Jennifer Lawrence Is Top-Grossing Actor of 2014

Forbes has released its list of the top-grossing actors in Hollywood, and the winner is an unsurprising choice, considering just how immensely successful her films have been this year.

Jennifer Lawrence is the top-grossing actor of 2014, according to Forbes, who compiled the list by adding up global box office totals from Box Office Mojo over the calendar year. This is not a list of what the actors themselves have earned, but rather what their films have earned. If nothing else, it illustrates which stars Hollywood might consider box office draws in the future.

Lawrence, naturally, was the clear winner, earning a combined $1.4 billion between her two massive blockbusters this year, X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. Of course, while Lawrence earning the top spot probably shouldn't be that big of a surprise, I wholeheartedly expected a different actor to be at No. 1. However, as it turns out, that person is at No. 2.

Chris Pratt, who became a household name this year between The LEGO Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy, is the second highest-grossing star of the year with $1.2 billion earned. Neither of his two big movies this year were necessarily expected to be as huge as they were, considering Pratt was unproven in a big screen context, and the Guardians of the Galaxy weren't exactly Marvel's best-known property. Also, The LEGO Movie was still dealing with the Frozen juggernaut that carried over from 2013. Yet both films managed to exceed even the most optimistic expectations, cementing Pratt as a legitimate star.

At No. 3 is Scarlett Johansson, who made her mark on the list this year with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Lucy and Under the Skin, bringing her box office total for the year up to $1.18 billion. And her 2015 is likely to be every bit as huge, considering the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron is just on the horizon.

From there, the list gets a bit less conventional, and perhaps more surprising. At No. 4 is Mark Wahlberg, who made it onto the list largely on the strength of Transformers: Age of Extinction, which brought him up to $1 billion. Rounding out the Top 5 is Captain America himself, Chris Evans. Thanks to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Evans ended the year with a box office draw of $801 million.

Emma Stone is at No. 6 with $764 million, carried mostly on the strength of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, although she's had success in Oscar contender Birdman (which has earned $23 million so far). She also had a minor indie hit with Woody Allen's latest, Magic In the Moonlight ($33 million). Angelina Jolie came in at No. 7 with $758 million, landing in the Top 10 with the biggest hit of her career, Disney's Maleficent.

The rest of the Top 10 is an X-Men free-for-all...

James McAvoy came in at No. 8 with $747 million, making him the second X-Men: Days of Future Past actor to ride that film into the Top 10, although he wouldn't be the last. His co-star Michael Fassbender came in at No. 9 with $746 million, slightly below McAvoy (who had the benefit of a smaller indie film, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, giving him a slight boost in the rankings). Fassbender is then followed by Hugh Jackman, who rounds out the list at No. 10 with $746 million. Fassbender benefited from residual box office from Best Picture Oscar winner 12 Years A Slave, which enjoyed a nationwide release in conjunction with its Oscar nominations/wins.

Overall, the list is still (unsurprisingly) blockbuster driven, as stars land on the list thanks to big hits in conjunction with one another, as opposed to being a case where someone lands on the list thanks to a series of smaller but dependable successes. However, those smaller successes often will mean the difference between placing sixth and, say, placing 8th. It's an interesting list of successes both big and small, and indicates a decent 2014 for box office profits, even if theater attendance remains down across the board.

To recap, check out the full list below:

Credit: Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

TOP 10 HIGHEST-GROSSING ACTORS OF 2014

1. Jennifer Lawrence ($1.4 billion)
2. Chris Pratt ($1.2 billion)
3. Scarlett Johansson ($1.18 billion)
4. Mark Wahlberg ($1 billion)
5. Chris Evans ($801 million)
6. Emma Stone ($764 million)
7. Angelina Jolie ($758 million)
8. James McAvoy ($747 million)
9. Michael Fassbender ($746 million)
10. Hugh Jackman ($746 million)

Via: Forbes