Star Power in 2010

With a budget over 100 million, the film Knight and Day staring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, grossed just over $76 million domestically. Those might be good numbers for a small budget independent flick, but this was one of Fox's big Summer films.

And yet, it would seem that stars fade fast in Hollywood, as some of the biggest name of the past like Tom Cruise fizzles in the United States. Or I think about Julia Roberts, and despite all the advertisements for Eat, Pray, Love and "America's Sweetheart" the film did just a little better than Knight & Day, with a domestic gross of $80.5 million.

And where last year at this time, I was very skeptical if our big name stars had any star-power left with 2009 films like Avatar, The Hangover, and Star Trek with their generally "un-starry" cast.

2010's highest grossing live action films did have more star power than 2009, here's a list of who made the grade this past year (of course, there is plenty of room to argue these stars are riding the coat tails of their franchises and that people did not attend these films because of the performers and supporting cast).

Top Grossing Live Action Films and Their Stars:

1. Alice in Wonderland (Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowski, Helena Bonhem Carter, Anne Hathaway)

2. Iron Man 2 (Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke)

3. Twillight Saga: Eclipse (Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner)

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Daniel Ratcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonhem Carter, Ralph Fiennes)

5. Inception (Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cottilard, Ellen Page)

6. The Karate Kid (Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan)

7. Tron Legacy (Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde)

8. Clash of the Titans (Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes)

9. True Grit (Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon)

10. Grown-Ups (Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Selma Hayek)

SURPRISED? These people's name show up more than once in the top 10 of 2010

○ Jeff Bridges (Tron Legacy, True Grit)

○ Helena Bonhem Carter (Alice In Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I)

○ Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I, Clash of the Titans)

Are these three secretly the real stars of 2010?