TopBillingHollywood's highest-paid actor and actress, every year since 1916About the data

New Hollywood · 1970s

1974

Steve McQueen

Top-earning actor

Steve McQueen

$1,000,000

The Towering Inferno: $1M + share of grossDeal

About $6.5 million in 2025 dollars

He and Paul Newman were each paid $1 million, and McQueen's share of the gross made him the world's highest-paid movie star of 1974.

The pictures that paid

Barbra Streisand

Top-earning actress

Barbra Streisand

≈ $1,000,000

Repeats her 1970 feeEstimate

About $6.5 million in 2025 dollars

Still the top female box-office star.

The pictures that paid

Box office champions of 1974

By U.S. theatrical rentals, the studios' share of ticket sales

  1. 1

    The Towering Inferno

    $50 million

    ★ Starring Steve McQueen

  2. 2

    Blazing Saddles

    $45.2 million

  3. 3

    Young Frankenstein

    $38.8 million

Sources