Michael Bay is the true Hollywood king of 2009, love him or hate him you have to respect the guy. It seems you can't beat a Transformer. Below is the top five of a list compiled by Vanity Fair. For the entire list which is top forty Hollywood Earners, many thanks to Vanity Fair and link below.
1 Michael Bay
(William Morris Endeavor Entertainment)
Estimated 2009 earnings: $125 million
$75 million: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (back-end profit participation for directing and producing, based on worldwide box-office gross of $835 million)
$28 million: Transformers: R.O.T.F. (share of estimated $280 million in DVD revenue)
$12.5 million: Transformers: R.O.T.F. (share of toy and other licensing royalties)
$4 million: Friday the 13th (back end for producing, based on worldwide gross of $90 million, and share of DVD)
$2 million: The Unborn (back end for producing, based on worldwide gross of $77 million, and share of DVD)
$2 million: A Nightmare on Elm Street (fee for producing inexplicable remake)
$1.5 million: Royalties from older films, other income
2 Steven Spielberg
(Creative Artists Agency)
Estimated 2009 earnings: $85 million
$50 million: Universal theme-park royalties and consulting fees (ongoing deal signed in 1987)
$20 million: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (fee for producing and directing upcoming 2011 release)
$10 million: Other back-end revenue, royalties from older films
$5 million: Transformers: R.O.T.F. (back end as executive producer)
3 Roland Emmerich
(CAA)
Estimated 2009 earnings: $70 million
$70 million: 2012 (back end for producing and directing, based on worldwide gross of $746 million as of December 31)
4 James Cameron
(CAA)
Estimated 2009 earnings: $50 million
$50 million: Avatar (back end for producing, writing, and directing, based on worldwide gross of $830 million as of December 31)
5 Todd Phillips
(CAA)
Estimated 2009 earnings: $44 million
$39 million: The Hangover (back end for directing, based on worldwide gross of $460 million, and share of DVD)
$5 million: Due Date (fee for producing and directing upcoming comedy starring Robert Downey Jr.)
LEEE777 - Let's be honest, Bay deserves it, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" wasn't perfect and yes it was a toy movie, but it was more enjoyable than "GI Joe" (another toy movie) and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (which may as well been a toy movie) put together.