Top-earning actor
Cary Grant
$3,000,000
Share of Operation PetticoatDeal
About $33.1 million in 2025 dollars
His own company made the film, and his share came to about $3 million, the most any actor had made from one film up to then.
Points, Not Paychecks · 1950s
1959
Top-earning actress
Elizabeth Taylor
$500,000
Fee for Suddenly, Last SummerDeal
About $5.5 million in 2025 dollars
The independent production paid her $500,000.
The pictures that paid
Box office champions of 1959
By U.S. theatrical rentals, the studios' share of ticket sales
- 1
Ben-Hur
$36 million
- 2
The Shaggy Dog
$9.6 million
- 3
Operation Petticoat
$9.3 million
★ Starring Cary Grant