Star Wars makes Harrison Ford the top US box office earner

The actor has leapfrogged Samuel L Jackson to take top spot, with his films now earning a combined US box office of $4.7bn following hits with the Indiana Jones franchise, as well as roles in The Fugitive and Air Force One.

According to Box Office Mojo, the Captain America star Jackson earned a total box office return of $4.63bn.

Following them are Tom Hanks ($4.33bn), Morgan Freeman ($4.32bn) and Eddie Murphy ($3.81bn) who make up the top five box office stars according to the site which uses a special algorithm to track box office earnings.

The highest Brit in the list is Batman and Alfie star Michael Caine who takes ninth spot with $3.29bn followed by Gary Oldman in tenth place at $3.27bn.

The next Brit afer them is Lord of the Rings star Ian McKellen whose films have raked in $3.15bn earning him 14^th spot.

The highest-placed woman is Shrek and Charlie’s Angels star Cameron Diaz at number 15 with $3.03bn.

The full top 20 is as follows (in millions):

1. Harrison Ford – $4,699.5

2. Samuel L. Jackson – $4,626.4

3. Tom Hanks – $4,334.8

4. Morgan Freeman – $4,316.2

5. Eddie Murphy – $3,810.4

6. Tom Cruise – $3,587.2

7. Robert Downey, Jr – $3,539.3

8. Johnny Depp – $3,291.6

9. Michael Caine - $3,291.1

10. Gary Oldman – $3,279.3

11. Robin Williams – $3,279.3

12. Bruce Willis – $3,189.4

13. Stellan Skarsgård – $3,171.9

14. Ian McKellen – $3,150.4

15. Cameron Diaz – $3,031.7

16. Robert DeNiro – $3,026.5

17. Matt Damon – $2,948.8

18. Liam Neeson – $2,941.4

19. Will Smith – $2,841.7

20. Stanley Tucci – $2,824.6