Christopher Nolan’s eye-watering $162m Oppenheimer payday after Academy Award bonus

Christopher Nolan, winner of the Best Picture award for Oppenheimer. Photo / Getty Images

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer dominated at the Oscars on Monday, now it’s been revealed how much the director will make from the hit film.

After taking home the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture this year as well as five other awards, Nolan’s final payday for the film has seen a huge bonus, resulting in an eye-watering profit for the 53-year-old.

Variety exclusively reported the figure, made up of salary, backend compensation, box-office escalators and a bonus for Nolan’s twin Academy Awards, is estimated to be close to US$100 million ($162m), according to inside sources.

#Oppenheimer wins the award for Best Picture at the 2024 #Oscars pic.twitter.com/0tjARZH4gu

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 11, 2024

The three-hour film was released on July 19 - the same day as Barbie - and immediately saw huge box office success. Made with a US$100m ($162m) budget, it quickly exceeded expectations with the box office reporting it made US$958 million ($1.5 billion) worldwide. It is expected the film’s ticket sales will generate even more income this weekend following its re-release in US cinemas and reach the $1b mark.

The film is reportedly the highest-grossing Best Picture winner since Sir Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which won the award in 2004.

Christopher Nolan, winner of the Best Picture award and Best Director award posing with his Oscars. Photo / Getty Images

Nolan wasn’t the only huge winner at the awards on Monday. Elsewhere, Robert Downey Jr, who portrayed Lewis Strauss in the film, was awarded Best Supporting Actor, marking the first time the actor has won an Oscar. He has previously been nominated in 1993 for Best Actor in Chaplin and in 2009 for Best Supporting Actor in Tropic Thunder.

The film’s leading man, Cillian Murphy, was later awarded Best Actor for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer. It marked the first time he has both been nominated and won an Oscar.

Murphy won out against Colman Domingo for Rustin, Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction.

Nolan’s win was also his first ever Academy Award despite being nominated eight times.

Oppenheimer saw huge success this award season, taking home seven awards at the Baftas including Best Film, Original Score, Cinematography and Editing.

Similar success occurred at the Golden Globes in January. The film grabbed five gongs, including the coveted Best Motion Picture, Drama.