A few years ago, when it was reported that renowned director Christopher Nolan was being paid $20 million advance, and a 20% cut in the gross of the war-drama Dunkirk, it made the world sit up and take notice. That was the highest ever paycheck for a film director.
It may be noted that directors get paid as per their experience, and typically get anywhere between $250,000 and $2 million per movie. Studio directors earn around $1 million, while new directors make between $250,000 and $500,000 per film. Additionally, most famous directors get a cut off the gross earnings of a film. Hence, we have to take that into account while gauging the income of a movie director.
Here are the top 5 highest paid directors calculated as per the sum total of the grosses of their movies, across their careers.
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Highest Paid Movie Directors of All Time
5. James Cameron
A list of the highest paid directors in the world cannot be complete without James Cameron in it. The Canadian filmmaker has been loved all over the world for giving the audience, blockbusters such as Titanic, True Lies, The Terminator 1 & 2, Alien, and Avatar. He has won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing for Titanic.
Cameron’s directorial ventures have earned more than $6.2 billion at the global box office. The highest earning movie is Avatar which set the cash registers ringing with a staggering worldwide collection of $2.790 billion. Till date, only 3 films have grossed over $2 billion, and James has made two of those movies. As of 2020, his net worth is estimated to be $700 million.
4. Michael Bay
Michael Bay is an American producer and director who is best known for making big-budget, action-packed films. He has directed numerous blockbuster movies like Bad Boys 1 and 2, Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, and the Transformers movie series.
Bay’s films have earned more than $6.4 billion globally, with the highest earner being ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ ringing in $1.12 billion at the box office. He is also the co-owner of the production house ‘Platinum Dunes’, which has successfully remade horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A nightmare on Elm Street, and The Amityville Horror, among others.
As of 2020, his net worth is estimated to be $450 million.
Peter Jackson
According to reports, Sir Peter Jackson, was paid $20 million upfront as director, writer, and producer for the 2005 film King Kong. Thus, he has always been one of the highest paid directors in the world.
Jackson is famous for directing the Lord of the Rings series and the Hobbit series. His movies have grossed over $6.5 billion at the worldwide box office, with the highest grossing directorial venture being ‘The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King’. It amassed more than $1 billion at the ticket counters and won the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best adapted screenplay Oscars for this director from New Zealand. As of 2020, his net worth is estimated to be $600 million.
2. The Russo brothers
Joseph Russo and Anthony Russo are brothers who usually work as a director duo in America. Their fortune can be attributed to the mind-boggling earnings of the Marvel superhero movies, like Captain America and Avengers. The total gross earnings of the movies by the Russo brothers is nearly $7 billion, with the highest grosser being Avengers: Endgame. That film grossed an incredible $2.798 billion at the worldwide box-office.
Their other ventures include TV work like Happy Endings, Community, and Arrested Development for which they won a Primetime Emmy Award. Despite the success of the Marvel films, the Russo brothers are yet to amass a personal fortune. As of 2020, they have a net worth of around $10 million.
Martin Scorcese, Christopher Nolan, Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, Darren Aronofsky, and other well-known directors unfortunately do not make this cut. They have made award-winning movies over the years, but the career gross earnings of their films falls well short when compared to the mentioned bigwigs, in this list.
1. Steven Spielberg
It is no surprise that one of the most famous directors in the world is also the highest paid. He has helmed a host of blockbuster movies such as ET, the Indiana Jones series, and the Jurassic Park series. Most of his films are seminal and he is one of the first ones (as director) to widely use technology in film making.
Till date, Spielberg’s movies have grossed more than $10 billion worldwide, with the highest grossing film being Jurassic Park at over $1 billion. He may have started out as a janitor in a studio, but now he is one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. As of 2020, his net worth is estimated to be $3.7 billion. He has received the Academy Award for Best Director for 2 movies, Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List, and a Best Picture Oscar as well for the latter.
Highest Paid directors of all time (Video)
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