Oh, to be a Hollywood star in a Martin Scorsese picture. Leonardo DiCaprio has gotten to several films with the legend so far, and their latest collaboration, Killers of the Flower Moon, purportedly netted the actor an absolutely ridiculous payday.
Leonardo DiCaprio is easily one of the best actors of his generation, starring in some of the best movies of the last 30 years, like Titanic, Catch Me If You Can, and Ganga of New York. His work these days demands a pretty penny, and new movie Killers of the Flower Moon actually saw a career high for DiCaprio in a Scorsese feature.
According to Puck, DiCaprio managed to net a lovely $40 million for his performance as Ernest Buckhart in Killers. That’d be god enough for making one of the best drama movies of the year enough, but it’s actually a record for DiCaprio and Scorsese.
Their last film together, The Wolf of Wall Street had DiCaprio taking home $25 million. Then a record in itself, and a worthy sum, it’s apparently been eclipsed by Killers by a cool $15 million. Good for Leo!
There are a couple of factors that separate the two projects. First and foremost is the involvement of Apple TV Plus. Paramount originally signed up to finance and distribute the thriller movie, but when it became clear Scorsese’s vision was expensive – around $200 million – Apple TV came on board to supply cash.
That ties into the other big issue between Killers and The Wolf of all Street, and that’s a streaming release. Apple TV Plus will host Killers of the Flower Moon soon after the theatrical opening is done. We don’t have a firm date on that yet, but it may very well come before the end of the year.
Streaming coming so soon tends to make stars look for more upfront, rather than getting a share of the box office, since even if something opens wide now, it probably won’t draw the strongest audience since people know it’ll be available at home soon. That certainly seems to be the case here, though DiCaprio could probably just make that much regardless because he’s such a big name.
Whatever the case, I’m just happy we got more DiCaprio and Scorsese. Robert De Niro is in the mix too, and Lily Gladstone makes a very welcome addition. If you haven’t seen Killers of the Flower Moon, I’d recommend it.
The film covers the Osage Nation murders in Oklahoma in the 1920s, and the fallout, which had a drastic impact on the FBI. You can check it out in cinemas now. We have lists of the best thriller series and best drama series if you’d prefer to stay home, and a guide to Reacher season 2 for what’s coming to the small screen.