London, Nov 19 (IANS) Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt reportedly turned down $5 million for a public appearance to spend time with his children.

The actor was due to attend the Grand Prix Ball at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates Oct 31, but failed to show up and it was later revealed he had joined partner Angelina Jolie and their six children on trick-or-treating for Halloween in Los Angeles, reports contactmusic.com.

'He's spending more time with the family and doing less of these appearances, even though it's a huge sum of cash,' said a source.

A spokesperson for the event admitted Pitt had been expected to attend and was unsure why he had shunned the huge appearance fee.

'We were told he would be attending as the guest of the Tourism Development and Investment Company. But he was a no-show, and nobody seemed to know why,' said James Magee, a representative for Global Event Management, that organised the do.