There are many reasons why TV has the upper hand over movies right now.

Thanks to streaming services like Netflix, Stan, Amazon and Hulu, the quality of television shows (and as a result, their budgets) has never been higher. Oh, and the fact you don’t have to change out of your pyjamas and leave your sofa doesn’t hurt either.

But the latest figures detailing how much the top actors get paid for their work on the big and small screen has given us yet another reason to choose to stay in.

According to Variety, the highest paid TV star of the year was Robert De Niro, who will reportedly receive US$775,000 (AU$976,500) per episode for an as yet unreleased and untitled Amazon drama series.

But scroll down just one spot further and you see evidence that women are also on top when it comes to TV.

Rounding out the top five for drama are several Game of Thrones stars including Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey on US$500,000 (AU$630,000) an episode, Homeland‘s Clare Danes and Grey’s Anatomy‘s Ellen Pompeo on US$450,000 (AU$567,000) an episode and Shameless‘ Emmy Rossum on US$350,000 (AU$441,000).

Listen: Holy mother of dragons, we need to talk about Game of Thrones. Post continues after audio.

Kerry Washington gets US$250,000 (AU$315,000) per episode of Scandal, while Elisabeth Moss scored a reported US$200,000 (AU$252,000) for each episode of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Proving the difference between UK and US budgets, The Crown‘s star Claire Foy reportedly received a comparatively low US$40,000 (AU$50,400) per episode.

On the comedy side, things are even more lucrative.

Kaley Cuoco receives US$900,000 (AU$1,134,000) per The Big Bang Theory episode along with her male co-stars, who all took a pay cut to ensure fellow cast member Mayim Bialik received a higher wage, which now sits at US$500,0000 (AU$630,000).

Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara both take home half a million per Modern Family episode, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus gets half of that for every Veep episode.

The results show that - after plenty of campaigning - overwhelmingly TV shows with ensemble casts pay their top talent the same wage, regardless of their gender.

Name any of the top TV shows of the year and if they're not entirely female led (Orange Is The New Black, The Handmaid's Tale etc) then they have a strong female star equal to any male.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for the film industry.

Earlier this week, Forbes released their annual list of the world's highest-paid actors and actresses, with estimated earnings based on data from Nielsen, ComScore, Box Office Mojo and IMDB.

While the figures are arguably bigger (these are organised on annual earnings rather than per film) you won't find a female actor in the top 10, let alone top five.

In fact, you have to scroll to 15th place to find Emma Stone's name thanks to an estimated earning of US$26 million (AU$32.7 million).

Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lawrence came in at 16 and 17, with US$25.5 million (AU$32.1 million) and US$24 million (AU$30.2 million).

Scroll down a little further and you'll see Melissa McCarthy at #21 with US$18 million (AU$22.6 million), Mila Kunis at #24 with US$15.5 million (AU$19.5 million), Emma Watson at #25 with US$14 million (AU$17.l6 million), Cate Blanchett and Julia Roberts at #28 and #29 with US$12 million (AU$15.1 million) and finally Amy Adams at #30 with US$11.5 million (AU$14.5 million).

Of the top 30, less than a third are women.

The highest paid actor, Mark Wahlberg's US$68 million (AU$85.6 million) is two and a half times more than Stone, the female equivalent.

In their analysis, Forbes was quick to acknowledge the gender pay gap that dominates even the most successful in Hollywood.

"This pay disparity is due, in part, to roles: There are simply fewer main female characters in the superhero movies and blockbusters that pay the sizeable backend profits that result in leading men's large paydays, or the franchise sequels that permit aggressive negotiation for future instalments," they wrote.

"According to a 2016 study, women comprise just 28.7 per cent of all speaking roles in movies."

Fingers crossed, this is the beginning of the end for such pay disparity.

This year in particular has seen audiences demonstrate their appetite for more female-led films in a way those in charge can't ignore - box office takings.

Despite star Gal Gadot being paid just US$300,000 (AU$378,000) for Wonder Woman, the female led and female directed film became the highest-grossing movie of the northern hemisphere's summer, and the year's second largest earner behind another blockbuster starring a female lead; Beauty and the Beast. 

And the consumer reactions to such great representation of women in film are arguably even more powerful.

The demand is clearly there - now it's up to Hollywood to catch up to the small screen, match and deliver.