Entertainment desk -For the second year in a row, the odds are in her favor: Jennifer Lawrence is once again the world’s highest-paid actress, notching $46 million pretax over 12 months–$13 million more than second-ranked Melissa McCarthy, who pocketed $33 million, according to Forbes.

The magazine reported that Lawrence’s impressive earnings consist largely of a profit slice from the big box office gross ($653.4 million) of her final Hunger Games installment and a mammoth upfront fee for the forth coming Passengers. Her total is down 11.5 per cent from $52 million in 2015, but she remains the girl on fire, financially speaking.

McCarthy, 45, is this year’s biggest dollar gainer year over year; her earnings are up $10 million on 2015′s estimate thanks in part to a reported eight-figure payday for Ghostbusters.

This year, the Mike & Molly star recorded her biggest annual paycheck to date, out-earning Scarlett Johansson (No. 3, $25 million).

“I started to think if I could do anything to build women up rather than the constant tear down I’m going to do it,” McCarthy, who started her own all-sizes clothing line, told FORBES.

Once again, we examined stars from around the globe, scouring Bollywood and the burgeoning Chinese cinema industry. To wit, 30 per cent of the list hail from outside the U.S.; Chinese actress Fan Bingbing makes the cut for the second consecutive year, while Charlize Theron, a dual citizen of South African and the U.S., returns to the list for the first time since 2013.

India’s Deepika Padukone is the only newcomer to the ranking. The 30-year-old joins the list with Bollywood hits such as Bajirao Mastani, though she earns far less than her Hollywood counterparts for roles.

Instead, she compensates with over a dozen lucrative endorsements–a hedging tactic employed by many of her Hollywood peers.

In an industry where a pay gap with male actors still exists, 90 per cent of the world’s highest-paid actresses supplement their on-screen earnings with endorsements.

A particular standout: Jennifer Aniston (No. 4), 47, whose advertisements for Emirates airlines, Smartwater, Aveeno and Living Proof comprise a chunk of her $21 million earnings.

Together, the world’s 10 highest-paid actresses tallied a combined $205 million between June 1, 2015, and June 1, 2016, before fees and taxes.

Four women, up from three in 2015, banked more than $20 million compared with 18 of the world’s leading men (a separate list of highest-paid actors will be published Thursday).

It’s a phenomenon up-and-comer Brie Larson experienced firsthand. “There were many times that I would go into auditions and the casting directors would say, ‘It’s really great, we love what you’re doing but we’d really love for you to come back in a jean miniskirt and high heels,’ ” said 30 Under 30 honoree Larson after winning the Best Actress Oscar for Room.

But with box office clout and undeniable chops, some of the highest-paid actresses have maneuvered themselves into positions of economic power.

Half of the list are over 40; at 26, Lawrence is the youngest list member and the only one under 30. The older members of the list have succeeded in spite of a lack of roles: just 35 per cent of characters onscreen are over 40 and women fill just 21.4 per cent of those roles.

Well-known names including Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, Kristen Stewart, Reese Witherspoon and Cameron Diaz were among the drop-offs on this year’s ranking.

There were also some noteworthy near misses: Kristen Wiig, Renée Zellweger and Cate Blanchett all narrowly missed the $10 million cut off for this year’s ranking.

Where last year’s ranking evaluated 18 women, this year’s list has returned to the top 10 to give a more accurate portrait of acting’s earning elite. Earnings estimates are based on data from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with agents, managers and lawyers.

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