The salaries of Hollywood’s biggest stars and production staff have been revealed.
Paychecks for reliable megastars like Jennifer Lawrence remain enormous with the actress earning a reported $20 million for her upcoming feature film Red Sparrow. Also included in the highest bracket of Hollywood top-earners include Will Smith and Dwayne Johnson.
In TV, the biggest payouts were for The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecky, who each took home $900,000 per episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Kevin Spacey reportedly makes $500,000 for every episode of the House of Cards, while the stars of the Game of Thrones also earn about the same.
In Hollywood, the middle bracket of stars can earn expect to earn less than $3 million per production.
Emma Watson reportedly makes a modest $3 million for her work in Beauty and the Bast, while Jessica Chastain was paid only $700,000 for her work in the movie Woman Walks Ahead. That said, Emma Watson made a total of about $20 million after the movie made over a $1 billion at the box office.
Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot was the driving force behind a movie that earned over $800 million at theaters, but she was paid about $150,000.
The child actors from Stranger Things, which was a huge hit for Netflix, reportedly took home a modest $30,000 for each episode they appeared in. However, the young actors can expect bigger salaries in the future.
Here’s a breakdown of the crew’s pay in Hollywood
PRODUCERS:
Top dollar: The age of the mega-producers may have passed-somewhat, but David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will have earned a minimum $2m upfront for Beauty and the Beast and with profits off the top made another $20m.
Middle dollar: A competent film producer in Hollywood can expect to earn $750,000 to $1m a film.
Bottom dollar: Producer Guild minimums state that the lowest a producer can make on a project is $250,000
AGENTS:
Top dollar: The only Ari Gold’s in Hollywood today are William Morris CEO Ari Emanuel and CAA’s Richard Lovett – who can earn almost $40m annually.
Middle dollar: An average agent can earn anywhere between $300,000 to $500,000 a year
Bottom dollar: New starters will take home up to $60,000 annually at the very best
DIRECTOR:
Top dollar: Household names like Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg will earn up to $20m a movie
Middle dollar: The female director of Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins, got $1m for the film. It was a hit and she has now moved into the top bracket and will be getting $8-9m for the sequel.
Bottom dollar: New directors such as Jordan Vogt-Roberts will have taken home $750,000 for Kong: Skull Island.
BOOM OPERATOR:
Top dollar: Microphone holders can make up to $120,000
Middle dollar: They will take home $72,000 a year
Bottom dollar: They will make $37,000 a year
TV HOST:
Top dollar: Pat Sajak makes $15m a year for Wheel of Fortune and Ryan Seacrest gets $12m a year for his hosting duties on ABC
Middle dollar: Alec Baldwin will get $3m for ABC’s new Match Game
Bottom dollar: The Travel Channel’s hosts are on around $40,000 an episode
STUDIO CHIEF:
Top dollar: Disney’s Alan Horn and Fox’s Stacey Snider are bringing home around $20m with their base salary plus stocks and bonuses.
Middle dollar: Sony president of worldwide marketing and distribution Josh Greenstein makes $2m a year
Bottom dollar: Studio heads of a niche division like Fox Searchlight will be on $1m a year
TV STAR:
Top dollar: The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons will be on around $20m a season or around $900,000 an episode.
Middle dollar: Mandy Moore from This is Us will earn up to $100,000 a year.
Bottom dollar: The kids from Stranger Things such as Millie Bobby Brown will have taken home around $30,000 an episode
SHOWRUNNER:
Top dollar: Shonda Rhimes who created Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal will make $20m a year.
Middle dollar: Game of Thrones’ David Benioff and D.B Weiss will make $300,000 an episode.
Bottom dollar: Showrunners who have just started on the ladder will be taking home about $40,000 an episode.
SCREENWRITER:
Top dollar: Aaron Sorkin of The West Wing fame can expect to make $5m for his latest project.
Middle dollar: The writers behind the new Jumanji film, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg were paid $1m each
Bottom dollar: Industry minimums are $72,600 for an original script and $63,500 for an adaptation.
CAMERA OPERATOR:
Top dollar: Blockbuster camera operators get $150,000 a year.
Middle dollar: Average earners are on $1,833 a week
Bottom dollar: Around $25.50 an hour
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