List of highest-paid directors

No.	Title	Director	Summary	Est. Total	Notes
1.	Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace	George Lucas	Gross earnings	$400 million	Also writer and executive producer
2.	The Passion of the Christ	Mel Gibson	Gross earnings	$400 million	Also writer and producer
3.	Jurassic Park	Steven Spielberg	Gross earnings	$250 million	Also executive producer
4.	Titanic	James Cameron	$600, 000 for screenplay, $8 million director's fee + backend particpations	$115 million
5.	Pearl Harbor	Michael Bay	Director's earnings	$25 million
6.	King Kong	Peter Jackson	$20 million against 20% of the gross	Over $20 million^[1]	Also co-writer and producer
7.	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Peter Jackson	$10 million + share of the profits	Over $10 million^[2]	Also co-writer and producer
8.	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	Chris Columbus	$10 million + % of the gross^[3]	Over $10 million
9.	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Peter Jackson	$10 million + share of the profits	Over $10 million	Also co-writer and producer
10.	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Peter Jackson	$10 million + share of the profits	Over $10 million	Also co-writer and producer
11.	Assassins	Richard Donner	$10 million	$10 million	Also co-producer
12.	A Beautiful Mind	Ron Howard	$10 million	$10 million	Also co-producer
13.	Spider-Man 2	Sam Raimi	$10 million	$10 million

[edit] Notes

^ King Kong grossed $547 million. WIth approx. 40 % of the gross returned to Universal and combined producion, prints and advertising costs of $247 million, Kong actually made a $28.2 million loss at the box office. DVD sales and TV licensing will have put its profits in the black.
^ Jackson is estimated to have made over $125 million from the three LOTR films.
^ Harry Potter grossed $974.6 million at the box office. WIth costs of $175 million the film made a profit of $214.8 million at the box office.