Pay for Perserverance: Hollywood's Highest Paid

'The Dude Abides,' may have been a line made famous by Jeff Bridges in the cult classic 'The Big Lebowski,' but it accurately describes who makes it on to the best paid list for Hollywood actors and actresses.

Financial success appears to be aligned with willingness to work, to overcome adversity despite bad roles, bad scripts, bad product - and bad reviews. Cute works. And in at least one case, so does gross (as in gross-out rather than gross profit - though the correlation between the two can often be a strong one).

While there are some who theorize that there is a direct tie-in between box office and bank account, the formula seems less stringent than some might expect. Reputation and hope, based on the perception that past successes may generate some in the future appears to provide a powerful, if difficult to quantify draw. The notion that success breeds success seems less important than the notion that exposure breeds opportunity. Nice work if you can get it. JL

The Huffington Post reports:

Tom Cruise's personal life may be in shambles, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain.

Forbes reports that Cruise is the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, pulling in an astonishing $75 million between May 2011 and May 2012.
With wife of five years, Katie Holmes, filing for divorce from the actor, Cruise's status as the biggest moneymaker in Hollywood is sure to come up when it comes time for court. There have already been conflicting reports that claim a prenup could snag Holmes $3 million for each year she was married to Cruise, or leave her with absolutely nothing.

Cruise had a huge year with 2011's "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," which pulled in $700 million at the box office world wide, and according to Forbes, the actor was also paid handsomely for "Oblivion," which is set to hit theaters in April 2013.

Following Cruise on the list are Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Sandler, who are tied with second place, each reportedly earning $37 million from May to May. DiCaprio is a certified movie star, which is why he commands huge paydays, even if his track record can be hit or miss. 2010's mega blockbuster "Inception" dominated at the box office, but he followed it up with 2011's "J. Edgar," which earned a paltry $80 million globally, according to the magazine.

Sandler, on the other hand, rakes in the big bucks simply because he can get people into seats -- regardless of how many terrible the reviews the movie receives. Sandler's movie "Jack and Jill" managed to earn $150 million at the box office, despite winning a whopping 10 Razzie Awards.

In June, Forbes released its list of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood, and the ladies aren't too far behind men.

"Twilight" star Kristen Stewart reportedly earned $34.5 million in 12 months, while Cameron Diaz came in at a close second with $34 million, and Sandra Bullock was third -- earning a cool $25 million in the same time period.