Cameron ($257m) and Depp ($100m) top list of Hollywood earners in 2010

Vanity Fair has released its Hollywood Top 40 Earners List. Leading the charge for 2010 was James Cameron made $157 million more than anyone in Hollywood due to the immense success of Avatar, which he wrote, directed, and produced. The film took in $2.8 billion at the box office alone, making it the most successful movie of all time in terms of sheer dollars. Johnny Depp was the highest paid actor, netting $40 million for Alice in Wonderland, $35 million in upfront cash for the next Pirates of the Caribbean, and $20 million for The Tourist. Leo DiCaprio ($62 million) and Christopher Nolan ($71.5 million) can thank each other as Inception helped them both have a stellar year, though DiCaprio also starred in the Scorsese thriller Shutter Island.

The Twilight Saga Eclipse love trio all made the list as well, with Taylor Lautner leading the pack at $33.5 million. His earnings include $12.5 million for each half of the upcoming two-part Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn film. Robert Pattinson raked in $27.5 million, but was bested by Kristen Stewart who earned $28.5 million. The rest of the list is below.

Hollywood Top 40 Earners for 2010

1. James Cameron – $257 million
2. Johnny Depp – $100 million
3. Steven Spielberg – $80 million
4. Christopher Nolan- $71.5 million
5. Leonardo DiCaprio – $62 million
6. Tim Burton – $53 million
7. Adam Sandler – $50 million
8. Todd Phillips – $34 million
9. Taylor Lautner – $33.5 million
10. Robert Downey Jr – $31.5 million
11. Will Smith – $29 million
12. Joe Roth – $28.5 million
13. Kristen Stewart – $28.5 million
14. Jerry Bruckheimer – $27.5 million
15. Robert Pattinson – $27.5 million
16. Jason Blum and Oren Peli – $26.5 million
17. Tyler Perry – $25 million
18. Jennifer Aniston – $24.5 million
19. Jon Favreau – $24 million
20. Nicolas Cage – $23.5 million
21. Angelina Jolie – $23.5 million
22. Sandra Bullock – $22 million
23. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard – $21 million
24. Christopher Meledandri – $21 million
25. Joel Silver – $21 million
26. Owen Wilson – $19.5 million
27. Vince Vaughn – $18.5 million
28. Daniel Craig – $18 million
29. Vin Diesel – $18 million (for Fast Furious 5)
30. Ben Stiller – $18 million
31. Steve Carell – $17.5 million
32. Martin Scorsese – $17 million
33. Katherine Heigl – $16 million
34. Shia LaBeouf – $16 million
35. Tom Cruise – $14.5 million
36. Reese Witherspoon – $14.5 million
37. Hugh Jackman $14 million
38. Shawn Levy – $14 million
39. Guy Ritchie – $13.5 million
40. Eddie Murphy – $13 million

Somehow Eddie Murphy keeps pulling in the cash. For a detailed breakdown for this list, including dollar amounts for every movie each person was paid for, head over to Vanity Fair.

Are you puzzled by anyone on this list? Does it make you mad that Katherine Heigl keeps making money despite so many terrible movies?