Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in Warner Bros. Pictures' fantasy adventure "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Photograph by: Jaap Buitendijk
Credit: AP

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• The Films of the Decade

Daniel Radcliffe, 19, earned an estimated $41m for signing on to appear in the final two Harry Potter movies. His co- star Emma Watson, also 19, earned $30m, thanks to her two $15m paydays for the remaining Hogwarts films.

Those earnings allowed Radcliffe to top such Hollywood luminaries as Ben Stiller ($40m), Tom Hanks ($36m), Owen Wilson ($29m), Nicolas Cage ($28m) and Russell Crowe ($28m).

Watson, a student at Brown University in the US, beat out such superstars as Cameron Diaz ($27m), Sarah Jessica Parker ($24m) and Katherine Heigl ($24m), not to mention Angelina Jolie ($21m), Jennifer Aniston ($20m) and Sandra Bullock ($20m).

But the earning power of Hollywood's best-known names paled in comparison to that of the men behind the camera.

Michael Bay, the director and producer of the Transformers film franchise, earned a staggering $125m to top the list of Hollywood earners.

Steven Spielberg was second with earnings of $85m, while Roland Emmerich, the creator of the disaster movie 2012 earned $70m.

Avatar producer and director James Cameron took in $50m while Todd Phillips, who directed the movie The Hangover, earned $40m.