Robert Downey Jr. is the Highest-Paid Actor. Number Two? Channing Tatum.

Robert Downey Jr. has been playing Iron Man since 2008, and has been in character as Tony Stark for almost a decade. The latest installment (our review) grossed $175 million domestically in its first weekend, on the way to $1.2 billion worldwide, despite being the follow-up to a pretty lame second installment. AND Marvel was desperate to lock him down for The Avengers 2 and 3. Also, he’s really good. Thus it’s no wonder that Robert Downey Jr. tops Forbes list of highest-paid actors with $75 million between June 2012 and June 2013. Frankly, that sounds a little low, considering he made $50 mil just for The Avengers.

The big surprise? That number two on the list was none other than Channing Tatum, the hardest twerkin’ man in showbizznasty. Frankly, I think he should have to share some of that income with Burnsy and I, give how responsible we are for all of his success. I’m sure he will though, he’s a great guy.

To compile our list, we talked to agents, producers, managers and other people in-the-know to estimate earnings for each star between June 2012 and June 2013. We don’t deduct for taxes, agent fees or any of the other costs of being a celebrity.

1. Robert Downey Jr., $75 million

2. Channing Tatum, $60 million

3. Hugh Jackman, $55 million

4. Mark Wahlberg, $52 million

5. The Rock, $46 million

It’s interesting to see that C-Tates has even surpassed the proto-C-Tates, Mark Wahlberg. I guess there comes a time in every ninja’s life when the student becomes the master. POW! It seems “Say hi to ya motha fa me” has finally given way to “Tell your sister I said what’s up or whatever.”

However, the most tantalizing part of the Forbes piece was the part about Magic Mike grossing $167 million on a $7 million budget, (C-Tates not surprisingly loves “back-end participation”) and the plans for future Magic Mike tie-ins.

[Tatum] and director Steven Soderbergh self-financed the movie Magic Mike, which meant they didn’t have to get notes from any studio bigwigs and they didn’t have to share any of the film’s sizable profits. The $7 million movie brought in $167 million at the global box office and is a growing business. A Broadway show is in the works as well as a line of bars and a sequel.

Whoa whoa whoa, a Magic Mike-themed bar where I can watch Magic Mike on an infinite loop while I drink beers and hang out instead of doing the same thing at home?! SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY. This is all I have to say about that:

History will eventually validate Magic Mike as the world’s greatest movie.

At Magic Mike’s we don’t say “cheers,” we say “stick it.”

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