Here’s How Much Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Makes

There is a ton of money to be made in Hollywood, and it isn’t just the Brad Pitt and Sofia Vergara caliber stars that are raking in massive paydays.

A survey of the entertainment industry was conducted by THR on everyone from the movie stars to the behind-the-scenes talent. Judging by their findings, it’s fair to say that many of these folks have quite a healthy bank account.

Check out the breakdown of how much people in various gigs in the entertainment industry are making below.

Movie Stars

Top: A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence or Will Smith can hover around the $20 million per film. Also, these Hollywood heavyweights can take home tens of millions more in backend options.

Middle: The days of major upfront paydays may be gone, even for films that are going to be reliable box office flicks. For example, Emma Watson received $3 million up front for Beauty and the Beast, which may be middle dollar for the movie stars. However, she ended up pocketing nearly $20 million thanks to backend deal, according to THR.

Bottom: For an actor appearing in their first big franchise movie, they can expect to earn about $150,000 to $300,000k. Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman or Henry Cavill in Man of Steel took home paydays in this range.

TV Stars and Directors

TV Star

Top: The highest paid actors on TV are major stars like The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco. They make about $900,000 per episode and about $20 million per year, including backend. Cable stars, like the Game of Thrones cast, typically make about $500,000 per episode.

Middle: Actors that aren’t quite as high up on the credits, such as Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand) on Game of Thrones, make about $55,000 per episode. Bigger stars on younger shows, like Mandy Moore on This Is Us, are said to make between $75,000 to $85,000.

Bottom: Supporting leads with no prior regular series roles make about $30,000. For example, the kids from Stranger Things make this amount per episode in the first season of the Netflix show.

Director

Top: Sources claim that legendary filmmakers like Ridley Scott received $10 to $12 million up front for Alien: Covenant. 

Middle: Wonder Woman director, Patty Jenkins, earned $1 million to direct the DC Comics film.

Bottom: For directors doing studio films for the first time, the paychecks can be in the range of $400,000 to $500,000. However, depending on the movie, the range can be a bit more volatile.

TV Hosts and Producers

TV Host

Top: Wheel of Fortune’s Pat Sajak earns around $12 million to $15 million a year. Ryan Seacrest, who is returning as host of American Idol, is taking home a similar payday.

Middle: Alec Baldwin is considered to be on the upper end of the middle range as a TV show. he is earning about $3 million for ABC’s Match Game. Sources say that Jamie Foxx is getting $4 million for Fox’s Beat Shazam.

Bottom: The non-famous hosts for Travel Channel make about $40,000 per episode.

Producer

Top: While producers used to take home a massive upfront payday, this isn’t the case as much in Hollywood anymore. There are still a few first-dollar-gross type producers like Beauty and the Beast‘s David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman who have an upfront fee of $2 million.

Middle: Average studio producers typically make about $750,000 per film.

Bottom: On the lower end, first-time producers on studio projects make about $250,000 as per the Producers Guild minimums.

Agents and Studio Chiefs

Agents

Top: There are a handful of agents in Hollywood that are making eight figures annually. Big time agents such as the co-CEOs of WME-IMG, Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, pocketed $40 million when TPG took a major stake in their agency in 2014.

Middle: Veteran agents with high-earning clients take home a total of mid to high-seven figures. However, average range is $300,000 to $500,000.

Bottom: Newbie agents can expect to clear about $50,000 at smaller agencies. At larger agencies, deals start around $60,000.

Studio Chief

Top: At the chairman level, the average base salary is $5 million. As for total annual compensation, the amount can be up to $15 to $20 million.

Middle: Base salary for mid-level studio chiefs is about $1.5 million or more. 

Bottom: For those running a studio specialty division, such as Focus Features or Sony Pictures Classics, they will be around $1 million in base pay.

Showrunners and Screenwriters

Showrunner

Top: Salaries for showrunners are all over the map. However, for the best shows, those in charge can rake in $15 million to $20 million a year. Shonda Rimes, who created a number of wildly popular shows, is making this amount at ABC.

Middle: Showrunners that aren’t quite as prominent, like Game of Thrones‘ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, make about $100,000 to $300,000 per episode.

Bottom: Newbie showrunners make about $30,000 to $40,000 per episode.

Screenwriter

Top: The highest-paid writers like Max Landis aren’t making as much as they used to. However, he did receive $3 million for the upcoming Bright movie on Netflix and $2 million for a spec script called Deeper for MGM. Other top dogs like Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian also make between $3 and $5 million.

Middle: For studio work, average writers make in the low six figures. The writers on Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg – each made between $850,000 to $1 million.

Bottom: The latest WGA sets the minimum at $72,600 for an original script and $63,500 for adaptations. Studio writers typically make more than this.