List of highest-paid directors

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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. King Kong Peter Jackson $20 million against 20% of the gross Over $110 million[1] Also co-writer and producer
6. Pearl Harbor Michael Bay Director's earnings $25 million
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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Jackson is estimated to have made over $125 million from the three LOTR films.
  3. ^ 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.

[edit] Sources