World’s highest-paid director earns $100 million a film, once had just $6K budget; not Spielberg, James Cameron, Russos | Hollywood

World’s highest-paid director

Christopher Nolan is currently the highest-paid film director in the world. His last film, Oppenheimer, earned $958 million at the box office. According to Variety, Christopher Nolan made an impressive $100 million from the film, including salary, backend compensation, box-office escalators, and a bonus for his twin Academy Awards.

Steven Spielberg and James Cameron used to charge $10-20 million a couple of decades ago but have foregone salaries in favour of production shares since then. This has meant that they earn as executive producers of their films, rather than directors. No other director earns nine figures worldwide.

Christopher Nolan’s journey

Nolan started his filmmaking journey in the 90s, and his first directorial was the 1998 release Following. A neo-noir crime thriller, Following was made on a shoestring budget of just $6000 but ended up earning over $126,000, becoming a sleeper hit. This encouraged Nolan to move to the US and in 2000, he made his first studio-backed feature film, Memento. A commercial success, the film launched his career in Hollywood, enabling him to helm the Dark Knight trilogy for DC and Warner Brothers. The second film of the trilogy – The Dark Knight – grossed over a billion dollars. Each of Nolan’s films since then have earned over $300 million and largely generated favourable reviews. Nolan has won two Oscars and BAFTA Awards each for his work.