A couple of years ago, when Hollywood Reporter noted in a piece that Christopher Nolan, the god of filmmaking in the modern era, would make 20 million dollars upfront plus 20 percent cut of the profits for Dunkirk, his acclaimed war drama, the Internet went into an overdrive.
A couple of years ago, when Hollywood Reporter noted in a piece that Christopher Nolan, the god of filmmaking in the modern era, would make 20 million dollars upfront plus 20 percent cut of the profits for Dunkirk, his acclaimed war drama, the Internet went into an overdrive.
With Dunkirk releasing now and raking in the big bucks, the question of Hollywood’s highest paid directors is upon us, once more.
According to an extensive story in Vanity Fair, one of the highest paid directors in Hollywood today is Steven Spielberg whose films have managed to earn 9 billion dollars at the box office. Other money-making directors include names like Peter Jackson and James Cameron—both of whom have made films that have raked in 6 billion dollars.
Past successes don’t mean a thing so filmmakers like Justin Lin, who directed several Fast and The Furious films as well as Star Trek Beyond, is making anywhere between 11 or 12 million per film now. Same is the case for The Hangover director Todd Philips who is also commanding anywhere between 12 and 14 million dollars per project.
Patty Jenkins, who directed Wonder Woman, is up for a big payday while Jon Watts, who directed Spider-Man: Homecoming will also rake it in with his next film. Consequently, younger filmmakers are making more money than legends like Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Francis Ford Coppola.
The bottom Line is that studios are asking directors to share in profits instead of upfront payments. Examples include Clint Eastwood who had a massive payday after American Sniper made nearly 500 million dollars.
As an insider told Vanity Fair: “There’s still a lot of money to be made, but only when the movie works.”
