Christopher Nolan Earned Nearly $100 Million From 'Oppenheimer'; Oscar Wins Expected To Increase Pay
Christopher Nolan got a huge paycheck from "Oppenheimer."
Nolan's final "Oppenheimer" payday amounted to nearly $100 million, Variety reported, citing unnamed insiders.
This amount included Nolan's salary, box-office escalators, backend compensation and a bonus for his two Oscar wins as director and producer of "Oppenheimer."
The filmmaker, who also wrote the historical epic, is expected to get an additional bonus as "Oppenheimer" will be shown in 1,000 theaters this weekend in celebration of its Best Picture win at the Oscars.
Variety predicted that the film's rerelease would push its box office beyond $1 billion.
"Oppenheimer" raked in $958 million worldwide following its July 2023 release.
The three-hour biopic, which tells the story of theoretical physicist and "father of the atomic bomb" J. Robert Oppenheimer, won seven Academy Awards in total during Sunday's ceremony.
In addition to Best Director for Nolan and Best Picture, Cillian Murphy took home Best Actor, while Robert Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor.
Nolan, who had been nominated eight times at the Academy Awards across two decades, won his first and second Oscar on Sunday night.
"To the Academy -- movies are just a little bit over 100 years old," Nolan said during his first acceptance speech. "We don't know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think I'm a meaningful part of it means the world to me."
The filmmaker later told the press backstage that being recognized by his peers was "the icing on the cake" and "a wonderful finish to what's been an incredible year," the Associated Press reported.
Nolan was previously nominated for Best Director for 2017's "Dunkirk" and for Best Original Screenplay for 2010's "Inception" and 2000's "Memento."
Meanwhile, Murphy, who won for his portrayal of the titular physicist, made history as the first Irish-born winner of the Oscars' Best Actor trophy, according to the BBC.
"I'm a very proud Irishman standing here tonight," he said during his acceptance speech, before paying tribute to the cast and crew of "Oppenheimer."
Downey, who played American government official Lewis Strauss in the film, jokingly thanked his "terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order," while accepting his Best Supporting Actor trophy.
"I needed this job more than it needed me," Downey continued. "I stand here before you a better man because of it."
