Top-earning actor
John Gilbert
≈ $520,000
$10,000 a week, annualizedEstimate
About $11 million in 2025 dollars
Still on MGM's payroll at $10,000 a week; he finally left the studio in 1933.
The Studio Era · 1930s
1931
Top-earning actress
Constance Bennett
≈ $450,000
Two record deals in one yearEstimate
About $9.5 million in 2025 dollars
Warner Bros. paid her an all-time high of $30,000 a week for Bought!, and a short MGM contract paid $300,000 for two films.
The pictures that paid
Box office champions of 1931
By U.S. theatrical rentals, the studios' share of ticket sales
- 1
City Lights
$2 million
- 2
Trader Horn
$1.6 million
- 3
Palmy Days
$1.6 million
Neither top earner was in one of the year's three biggest films.