Compensation: The Minute-by-Minute Earnings of Oscar-Nominated Actors in Hollywood
The Oscars have certainly seen their fair share of drama over the years - from viral selfies to awkward on-stage disputes. But let's focus on something different for the upcoming Academy Awards on March 2. We took a closer look at actor and actress film earnings per minute spent on screen for Oscar-nominated films since 2015.
We teamed up with Matthew Stewart, the founder of Screen Time Central, a film and TV database with screen time data for all Oscar-nominated features since records began. So grab your popcorn, settle in, and let's dive into the numbers.
Turns out, men are the big earners when it comes to per-minute earnings. In the last decade, men on average have earned a whopping $99,998 per minute compared to $72,839 for women. Bradley Cooper takes the top spot with an impressive $591,856 earnings per minute for 'American Sniper'. However, he lost the Best Actor award to Eddie Redmayne. Andrea Riseborough, nominated for Best Actress in 2023 for 'To Leslie', on the other hand, earned a modest $403 per minute, the lowest among all nominees across the Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting categories.
Bradley Cooper remains without an Oscar but leads the way for top-earning men. His performance in 'American Sniper' earned him a huge $591,856 per minute. He was also nominated for Best Actor for 'Maestro' in 2024 and 'A Star is Born' alongside Lady Gaga in 2019. Despite lack of gold, Cooper has made over $1.2 million in the last decade for 4.5 hours of Oscar-nominated screentime.
Women find themselves way behind in the earnings race. Of the top 10, only Meryl Streep and Octavia Spencer made it. Despite her legendary status, Streep's earnings of $353,153 per minute for 'The Post' in 2018 only puts her eighth. Spencer, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for 'The Shape of Water' in the same year, made $314,848 per minute, putting her ninth.
It's clear that women face significant pay gaps in Hollywood, as demonstrated by the per-minute earnings. This discrepancy continues even in Academy Awards and at the industry level - with women earning around 80% of male earnings in the U.S. on average. The gender pay gap is exacerbated by factors like motherhood penalties and occupational segregation.
Despite the staggering pay gap, Will Smith, Joe Pesci, Ryan Gosling, and Cooper remain top earners. The inclusion of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in 'Wicked' in 2025 could potentially shake things up financially, as both have strong earnings per minute. However, it remains to be seen whether a higher payday will lead to awards success. According to Matthew Stewart of Screen Time Central, the correlation between screen time and salaries doesn’t necessarily lead to award success. Instead, the opposite seems to hold true for lead nominees.
- The upcoming Oscars might be a night of entertainment and celebration, but it's also a time to assess the salaries of actors and actresses, particularly their earnings per minute of screentime.
- As we delve into the numbers, it becomes apparent that men, on average, earn more than women, with a significant discrepancy of around $27,000 per minute spent on screen.
- Among the top earners, Bradley Cooper stands out with an impressive $591,856 earned per minute for 'American Sniper', despite not winning the Best Actor award.
- On the other hand, Andrea Riseborough, nominated for Best Actress in 2023, earns a modest $403 per minute, the lowest among all nominees across the Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting categories.
- The pay gap between men and women in Hollywood is evident, with women earning around 80% of male earnings, a discrepancy exacerbated by factors like motherhood penalties and occupational segregation.
