Vanity Fair has posted their annual list of the Hollywood folk who earned the most from making movies in 2010, and I love that they break every total down into upfront fees, back-end, and ancilliary revenue.  The top 10 is split between actors -- Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Sandler, Taylor Lautner, Robert Downey Jr. -- and producer/directors -- James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, Todd Phillips.  Hit the jump to see how they ranked and what they earned.

The list only counts money made from film-related projects (i.e. no television or advertisement paychecks), and counts the income made from January 1 to December 31, 2010 no matter when the movie was/will be released.  This excludes $50 million Cameron's 2010 total, but he had no problem claiming the top spot with all his Avatar funds.

It's funny to that Theme Park Consultant was Spielberg's most profitable job last year.  I was taken aback by his $20 million upfront fee to write and produce War Horse -- never got the sense the drama would have the scale that merits such a large paycheck for behind-the-camera talent.

Kinda sad to see only 6 females in the top 40, none of whom made the top 10.  But man is it cool to see Christopher Nolan in the top five without any help from Batman -- his only source of income an entirely original property.

Vanity Fair posted the top 40 at their site.  Here are the top 10:

1. James Cameron - $257 million

  • $248 million: Avatar (back-end for writing, producing, and directing, based on 2010 worldwide box-office gross of $1.95 billion, and share of DVD and pay-television revenue; excludes $50 million earned in 2009)
  • $5 million: Avatar (share of toy licensing, other revenue)
  • $4 million: Older film revenue (e.g., back-end and royalties from earlier projects, other payments)

2. Johnny Depp - $100 million

  • $40 million: Alice in Wonderland (back-end for starring, based on worldwide gross of $1.02 billion)
  • $35 million: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (up-front money)
  • $20 million: The Tourist (fee for starring)
  • $5 million: Older film revenue

3. Steven Spielberg - $80 million

  • $50 million: Universal-theme-park royalties and consulting fees
  • $20 million: War Horse (fee for directing and producing)
  • $10 million: Older film revenue

4. Christopher Nolan - $71.5 million

  • $69 million: Inception (back-end for writing, producing, and directing, based on worldwide gross of $823 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
  • $2.5 million: Older film revenue

5. Leonardo DiCaprio -  $62 million

  • $59 million: Inception (back-end for starring)
  • $3 million: Back-end for starring in Shutter Island, older film revenue

6. Tim Burton - $53 million

  • $50 million: Alice in Wonderland (back-end for directing, based on worldwide gross of $1.02 billion, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
  • $3 million: Older film revenue
adam sandler grown ups 2

7. Adam Sandler - $50 million

  • $25 million: Just Go with It (fee for producing and starring)
  • $20 million: Jack and Jill (fee for producing and starring)
  • $3 million: Grown Ups (back-end for starring and writing, based on worldwide gross of $271 million, plus share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
  • $2 million: Older film revenue

8. Todd Phillips - $34 million

  • $15 million: The Hangover Part II (fee for writing, producing, and directing)
  • $13 million: The Hangover (back-end for producing and directing; excludes $39 million earned in 2009)
  • $3 million: Due Date (back-end for producing and directing, based on worldwide gross of $200 million, as of December 31, 2010)
  • $2 million: Older film revenue
  • $1 million: Project X (fee for producing)

9. Taylor Lautner - $33.5 million

  • $12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1 (fee for starring)
  • $12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2 (fee for starring)
  • $7.5 million: Abduction (fee for starring)
  • $1 million: Older film revenue, mostly from Twilight franchise

10. Robert Downey Jr. - $31.5 million

  • $15 million: Fee for starring in upcoming untitled Sherlock Holmes sequel
  • $12 million: Iron Man 2 (back-end, based on worldwide gross of $627 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
  • $3.5 million: Sherlock Holmes (back-end, based on worldwide gross of $523 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
  • $1 million: Older film revenue