Leonardo DiCaprio named top earning actor

Leonardo DiCaprio has been named the world's highest paid actor.

The 'Inception' star toppled Johnny Depp from the top of Forbes magazine's list, earning an estimated $77 million in the financial year 2010 - which runs to May this year - compared to the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star's $50 million.

Leonardo's films 'Inception' and 'Shutter Island' took nearly $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office in 2010, with Forbes magazine saying in addition to upfront fees of around $15 million for each film, Leonardo also picked up a share of the profits.

Johnny wasn't able to match Leonardo, despite starring in the year's biggest grossing film, 'Alice In Wonderland', which made $1.024 billion at the box office, as well as 'The Tourist', which wasn't received well by critics but proved an international success taking $278 million worldwide.

However, the actor - who previously topped the list after earning an estimated $75 million in 2009 - could return to the top spot next year, after staring in the fourth film in the hugely successful 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series.

Third placed on the list was Adam Sandler, who made $40 million, closely followed by Will Smith and Tom Hanks with $36 million and $35 million respectively.

Leonardo's earnings were over double that of the highest paid female stars - as recently estimated by Forbes for the same period - Sarah Jessica Parker and Angelina Jolie, who made around $30 million each.

Forbes magazine's list of highest paid actors for financial year 2010, top five:

1. Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million)

2. Johnny Depp ($50 million)

3. Adam Sandler ($40 million)

4. Will Smith ($36 million)

5. Tom Hanks ($35 million)