Shrek Stars' Salaries Jump for Sequel

July 11, 2001 -- The stars of Shrek, which is so far this year's highest-grossing film, with $240 million in domestic box-office receipts, stand to make up to $35,000 an hour voicing the computer-animated comedy's sequel.

According to the number-crunchers at Variety, that princely sum is what Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz could be making if negotiations with DreamWorks go well.

The three actors deferred their salaries on the original film and have so far earned approximately $3 million each from their share of the domestic gross, Variety calculates. For the sequel, their services will need to be secured with an up-front fee, which could easily go to $5 million apiece.

Besides the box-office moolah, there's also the merchandising to account for, which includes toys, action figures, licensing, and home video.

Final negotiations are expected to take place between attorney Skip Brittenham, negotiating for Murphy, and DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg later this week, with Murphy's salary being the crucial talking point, reports Variety.