Scarlett Johansson has surpassed Emma Stone at the top of Forbes' list of the best-paid actresses in the world, taking home $40.5 million between June 2017 and June this year.

Johansson's roles in Marvel's Avengers films helped her quadruple her pay from the previous year to beat Angelina Jolie ($28 million, largely from her upfront pay for Maleficent 2) into second and Jennifer Aniston ($19.5 million, mostly from endorsements for the likes of Emirates airlines) into third.

Reese Witherspoon ($16.5 million), Cate Blanchett ($12.5 million) and Gal Gadot ($10 million) were also in the top 10. Notable absentees include last year's top earner Emma Stone, Amy Adams and Charlize Theron.

Only two women broke the $20 million mark this year, compared to three last year and four the year before, a long way off the 16 actors who made more than that in 2017. Cumulatively, the top 10 best-paid actresses made $186 million, a 16 percent jump on last year's $172.5 million.