Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro co-star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon, which has grossed over $137 million at the box office until now.

Killers of the Flower Moon still hasn’t collected anywhere near its massive budget at the box office. Fans may be surprised to learn that one-fifth of this massive $200 million budget went to Leonardo DiCaprio’s salary.

His $40 million paycheck might rival other highly-paid actors, including Robert Downey Jr. However, The Aviator actor’s remuneration from the Martin Scorsese film is not his highest payday yet.

Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers Of the Flower Moon

DiCaprio earned a whopping $59 million windfall from the box office success of Christopher Nolan’s Inception. The 49-year-old actor also earned $42.5 million from Titanic, out of which only $2.5 million was his base salary.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Salary From Killers Of The Flower Moon

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon

Leonardo DiCaprio’s $40 million salary for Killers of the Flower Moon was reported by the Puck newsletter. Earlier, his $30 million paycheck for the Netflix movie Don’t Look Up made headlines.

The Gangs of New York actor easily commands anywhere between $20-$30 million for his roles, unless he takes intentional pay cuts like in the case of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood for which he
was paid $10 million.

Interestingly, DiCaprio’s latest salary is his highest for a Martin Scorsese film. The Django Unchained actor had earlier earned a $25 million paycheck for Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

However, he deferred $15 million of this pay when the movie went over budget. His box office performances have also justified The Departed actor’s high payment.

Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and follows the story of DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart. The protagonist falls in love with a Native American Osage, Mollie Kyle, while members of her tribe are being killed for oil by his uncle, William Hale. Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro play the roles of Mollie and Hale respectively.

The film was released in theaters on October 20, 2023, and grossed over $137 million at the box office until now. The earlier announced streaming release on AppleTV+ had impacted the collections, which also prompted DiCaprio to strike an upfront deal. With his upfront salary, DiCaprio proves a tough competitor to other high-paid actors like Robert Downey Jr.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Latest Salary Might Rival Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in a still from Avengers: Endgame

From his films between 1995 and 2020, DiCaprio has amassed $300 million in salaries, reports Celebrity Net Worth. The Revenant actor has raked in more than $7 billion at the global box office.

His impressive box office track record is on par with Iron Man actor, Robert Downey Jr. The Sherlock Holmes actor earned a mere $500,000 base salary for his first MCU appearance, but by his last appearance, his earning was $75 million.

The Judge actor’s base salary for his first ensemble movie in the MCU, The Avengers, was $10 million. However, a smartly negotiated backend deal earned him nearly $50 million for the movie.

DiCaprio is also no stranger to backend deals, which earned him his highest payday in Inception. The Shutter Island actor even negotiated a 1.8% backend cut for Titanic when he was just 21 years old.