Most of you have heard the story of how Jack Nicholson struck it rich for his role as The Joker in the Batman franchise but it bears repeating. It remains the gold standard of backend deals because it involved a share of the film’s profits as well as a slice of the merchandise sales for the next 4 Batman films – Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin.

Although Jack only appeared in the original, he sat back and collected royalties north of $60 Million from the merchandise sales – Adjusted for inflation that’s over $100 Million today.