Released in 2009, "The Blind Side" chronicles how a Tennessee couple, Leigh Anne (Bullock) and Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw), adopt Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless teen from a broken home. Bolstered by Leigh Anne's undying determination to give Michael a better life, Michael is encouraged to join the high school football team, where his play catches the eye of several major colleges. In the end, Michael attended the University of Mississippi and was selected in the first round in the NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009 — and won a Super Bowl ring with the team in 2013.
Although Bullock commanded a much higher salary for her previous projects, The New York Times reported that she only earned $5 million for her role in "The Blind Side." Of course, that is still a lot of money for any working actor, and on top of that, "The Blind Side" earned Bullock her Best Actress Oscar. Better yet, having the most prestigious award anyone could ask for in Hollywood no doubt earned Bullock more bargaining clout for future roles; a factor that likely came into play when negotiating her lucrative contract for "Gravity" a few years later.
