Robert Downey Jr
Robert Downey Jr.Reuters

Robert Downey Jr, the hero of this year's highest-grossing film "The Avengers", has been named the top grossing actor of the year by Forbes magazine.

[PHOTOS OF TOP GROSSING ACTORS OF 2012]

Actress Kristen Stewart stands second in the list, followed by Christian Bale, Daniel Craig, Robert Pattinson and others.

"For the sake of this list, we're not looking at what each individual actor earned. We are looking at how much each actor's films brought in at the global box office over the course of the year. We are only giving each actor box office credit for movies he or she starred in," wrote Forbes magazine. 

Here is the List of Top 10 Grossing Actors of 2012: [PHOTOS OF TOP GROSSING ACTORS OF 2012] 

1)      Robert Downey Jr. ($1.5 billion): Downey is the top grossing actor of the year. His film, "The Avengers" raked in $1.5 billion at the box office. It also became the third highest-grossing film of all time after "Titanic" and "Avatar".

2)      Kristen Stewart ($1.2 billion): "Breaking Dawn Part 2", the last installment of Twilight series, earned $779 million at the box office till date and her other film "Snow White and the Huntsman" collected $396 million, making her the second highest grossing actor of the year.

3)      Christian Bale ($1 billion): "The Dark Knight Rises", the final installment of Batman series, hit the theatres in July this year, earning $1 billion at the box office. His other film "The Flowers of War" collected $300,000.

4)      Daniel Craig ($951 million): James Bond film "Skyfall" earned big at the box office, surpassing the collection of his other Bond film, "Casino Royale" which earned $600.

5)      Robert Pattinson ($793 million): "Breaking Dawn Part 2", the last installment of Twilight series, earned $779 million at the box office till date. However, his other films, "Cosmopolis" and "Bel Ami" tanked.

6)      Taylor Lautner ($779 million): He is one of the lead actors of Twilight series "Breaking Dawn Part 2" which has earned $779 million at the box office so far.

7)      Andrew Garfield ($752 million): He played the role of Peter Parker in the latest Spider-Man film "The Amazing Spider-Man". The film earned $752 million at the box office.

8)      Jennifer Lawrence ($748 million): The 22-year-old actress acted in The Hunger Games trilogy "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" which earned $687 million. Her other films, "House At The End Of The Street" and "Silver Linings Playbook" were also released this year.

9)      Will Smith ($624 million): "Men in Black III" featuring Will Smith earned $624 million worldwide.

10)   Mark Wahlberg ($598 million): The 41-year-old actor has a surprise hit in comedy film "Ted" which earned $502 million at the box office. His other film, "Contraband" earned $96 million.

[PHOTOS OF TOP GROSSING ACTORS OF 2012]