Breaking news: there seems to be a lot of money in Hollywood. With budgets spiraling ever higher due to the spectacle demanded from the modern day blockbuster, most high-profile actors now prefer not to take a salary and instead negotiate a 'back-end' deal that sees them make their money once the movie is turning a profit. Perhaps the most astute example is Tom Cruise and his Mission: Impossible franchise, with the four installments earning the diminutive action hero well over $250 million. The rarefied likes of Will Smith, Adam Sandler and Sandra Bullock are possibly still capable of demanding upwards of $20 million per movie but the trend is definitely on the way out. It was a profit participation deal that saw Robert Downey Jr. net $50 million from the massive success of The Avengers, tens of millions more than any of his co-stars. Even Johnny Depp has confessed to the 'stupid money' he is being paid to carry on churning out disappointing Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. It seems to me as if a lot of movie stars are being paid 'stupid money', regardless of the quality of either their performance or the movie itself, which got me thinking. The amounts may vary, as will the reasons, but this article will take a (hopefully interesting) look at ten instances where movie stars have earned a ridiculous amount of money from a single project. Any more you'd like to add to the discussion? Sound off in the comments below.