When Wolfgang Puck lays out the annual post-Oscar banquet in Hollywood on Sunday, he might want to think about doggie bags.

Movie stars, who not so long ago vied to make $20 million or even $25 million a picture, have seen their upfront salaries shrink in the last several years as DVD sales fell, star-driven vehicles stumbled at the box office and studios grew increasingly tightfisted.

How bad is it? Pretty bad.

Most of the three-dozen or so top-billed actors in the 10 films up for best picture in this Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, including blockbusters like “Up” and “Avatar,” appear to have received relatively minuscule upfront payments for their work.

Such deals can be extremely lucrative when they give stars a substantial share in home-video revenue. So Sandra Bullock, who cut her usual $10 million fee to just $5 million for “The Blind Side,” another of this year’s nominees, will eventually make $20 million or more from the movie because it was a hit. George Clooney similarly stands to make additional millions when all the revenue from “Up in the Air” is finally counted.

• Read the full New York Times story.