Scarlett Johansson is now the world's highest-paid actress according to the latest Forbes ranking.

This year's report states that Johansson earned a whopping $40.5 million (pre-tax) between 1 June 2017 and 1 June 2018.

This makes her acting's highest-earning female lead, bumping Emma Stone from last year's number one spot.

Johansson's fat bank balance can be largely attributed to her role as Black Widow in Marvel's Avengers, which she will reprise for the film series' fourth instalment in 2019.

The news is no doubt a welcome feat for Scar Jo and her management team, who just weeks ago had to fain off criticism when the actress was announced to play the leading role of a trans man in upcoming film Rub & Tug.

Backlash was so heavy that Johansson decided to pull out of the Rupert Sanders film. She previously worked with Sanders on Ghost in the Shell. This movie also drew criticism for having Johansson play lead character Major, who is Japanese in the original Manga.

Johansson precedes Angelina Jolie, who earned an impressive $28 million (helped by an upfront payment for Maleficent 2).

Second to Jolie is Jennifer Aniston (...), who has had a quiet year movie-wise but is still a heavy earner thanks to her endorsement deals (which include Emirates airlines, Aveeno and Smartwater).

Number four on the list is another Jennifer, Hunger Games favourite and Dior fragrance face Jennifer Lawrence, who earned $18 million over the past year.

She comes in just ahead of Reese Witherspoon, who earned $16.5 million for a variety of endeavours (including big-hitting HBO series Big Little Lies, which Witherspoon's production company co-produced).

Other names on the list include Mila Kunis (#6, $16 million), Julia Roberts (#7, $13 million), Cate Blanchett (#8, $12.5 million), Melissa McCarthy (#9, $12 million), and Gal Gadot (#10, $10 million).