LOS ANGELES - OSCAR-WINNER Angelina Jolie has proven again how handsomely it pays to combine gun-wielding action with serious roles, as she topped The Hollywood Reporter's list of highest-earning actresses on Friday.

But salaries are plummeting for top actresses and still lag the earnings of leading men, the trade paper said.

Jolie, 33, earned US$15 million (S$22.8 million) for the action movie Wanted this year and she could make US$20 million to star in a possible sequel, it said.

Jolie played dramatic roles in 2007's A Mighty Heart and in this year's Changeling.

The mother of six and partner of actor Brad Pitt last month talked about eventually fading away from acting to spend more time with her family.

Oscar winner Julia Roberts, 41, claimed the No. 2 spot after a long absence from the screen, making more than US$15 million for Duplicity, which comes out next year.

Actors are also earning less, with the exception of Will Smith, star of blockbusters Hancock and I Am Legend, who is riding high with up to US$25 million per movie.

'Everyone else's prices have gone down,' an unidentified talent agent told The Hollywood Reporter.

Reese Witherspoon, 32, who topped the female list last year after winning an Oscar for her role in the 2005 movie Walk the Line, dropped to No. 3. She earned US$14 million for appearing in the comedy hit Four Christmases that opened last week.

Cameron Diaz, Katherine Heigl, Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Aniston rounded out the list, with 39-year-old 'Friends' star Aniston earning more than US$8 million for the comedy Marley & Me opening on Christmas Day.

Big stars such as Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman - both Oscar winners - are no longer able to earn US$10 million a movie.

Compare that with Pitt and Johnny Depp, who according to The Hollywood Reporter make between US$15 million and US$20 million per film. -- REUTERS