Avatar director tops Vanity Fair Hollywood rich list

Avatar was responsible for most of director James Cameron's £159m earnings

Avatar director James Cameron has topped a Hollywood rich list for 2010.

Actor Johnny Depp came in second place, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Sandler and Robert Downey, Jr. also making the top 10 in the annual Vanity Fair magazine rich list.

The highest ranked woman was Twilight star Kristen Stewart, who was in 13th place, with Marley & Me actress Jennifer Aniston in 18th.

James Cameron made an estimated $257m (£159m) in 2010 according to the list.

Second placed Depp made $100m (£73.3m), earning his cash for roles in The Tourist, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Alice In Wonderland.

Kristen Stewart's Twilight co-stars also make it into the top 20 with Taylor Lautner at number nine and British actor Robert Pattinson in 15th place.

Pay cheques

Meanwhile, veteran director Steven Spielberg came in third place, with most of his estimated $80m (£49.5m) coming from royalties related to Universal Studios' theme park.

Kristen Stewart was the top ranked woman on the list in 13th place

Inception director and writer Christopher Nolan came in fourth, with the Englishman thought to have earned $71.5m (£44.3m).

Elsewhere Todd Philips, who wrote and directed comedy flick The Hangover, and has already been paid for a sequel, came eighth, earning $34m (£23.5m).

Cameron's multimillion pound pay cheques were almost all due to Avatar, with the 3D hit he wrote, produced and directed taking in a worldwide $1.95 billion at the box office.

Vanity Fair compiles its rich list annually which estimates which actors, producers and directors earn the most money in the movie business.

It only includes money that stars earn directly from film, so advertising money or TV work is not taken into account.