Daniel Craig Making Massive Sum for ‘Knives Out’ Sequels on Netflix

Daniel Craig is reportedly making bank for his role in the Knives Out franchise. Craig starred as detective Benoit Blanc in 2019’s Knives Out, which was a box office hit, earning $312.9 million against a $40 million budget. As a result, he’s the anchor of the franchise, with his character solving a new mystery in each film. That means a big payday going forward.

Netflix famously bought the rights to two Knives Out sequels for $450 million back in 2021, and Craig has profited heartily from that deal. How much has he profited? That’s up for debate but the totals range from $80 million to $100 million. 

Variety reported in 2021 that the former James Bond star is now “walking off with north of $100 million thanks to the eye-popping sale.” The outlet cites Netflix’s strategy of making up for lack of licensing/residual payments by paying stars large sums upfront. With stars also typically earn more for each sequel they appear in, meaning that Craig’s portrayal of Blanc earns him a bigger payday each time.

The lower end of estimates is $80 million, courtesy of Closer Weekly. The outlet’s source claims that Craig’s positioning when he first signed up for Knives Out earned him a huge “upside” after the Rian Johnson-directed flick was a sucess.

“When Daniel signed up for the first Knives Out more than five years ago, it was practically a low-budget indie film at that point and Daniel made sure he would have a big chunk of the upside if it hit,” Closer’s source claims. “Of course not only was it a shock box office smash, but Netflix acquired the entire franchise and greenlit two more films, which instantly made Daniel $80 million dollars richer.”

The source went on to compliment Craig’s savvy, saying “Daniel figured out how to get paid 007 prices for these easy, quick ensemble mystery movies he can shoot in two months!”

The second Knives Out movie, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, is streaming now on Netflix. The third, Wake Up Dead Man, is slated to release on Netflix in 2025.