The partying, portly director was supposed to be rolling in dough by now, but instead finds himself in a cash crunch due to the poor showing of "Rush Hour 3," friends say.

"Brett got $7 million upfront for the movie, but if it had done as well as 'Rush Hour 2,' he would have gotten another $10 million off the back end," one pal told us. "He got $5 million to direct 'The X-Men: The Last Stand' but didn't see anything on the back end because it barely broke even. He's now trying to command a fee of $10 million upfront to direct a movie which is out of range for a lot of projects. His cash is running a bit low."

But a representative for Ratner told us, "That is ridiculous. Brett has a two-picture deal with Imagine and a third at New Line." IMDB.com lists only two: "Carnaval 3D: The Magic and the Music" and an "Untitled Brett Ratner Project."

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