Michael Bays $75 Million Payday

A new article on LA Times Hero Complex blog further illustrates what a shrewd business man Michael Bay is as it is estimated he made about $75 million for the first Transformers movie. Considering he probably has the same or greater profit sharing agreements with Paramount and Hasbro and the film is tracking for a record breaking opening week, it’s safe to say he will make even more with the sequel. Snippets below, full article here.

Director Michael Bay agreed to forgo his normal percentage of ticket sales and a portion of his upfront fee in exchange for an even bigger piece of total profits from all revenue sources after Paramount recoups its costs. This kind of deal is increasingly common in Hollywood as studios attempt to avoid situations where they lose money on a film or eke out a tiny profit while big-name talent walks away with tens of millions of dollars, as happened with Paramount's "Mission Impossible III" and star Tom Cruise.

Bay cut a similar deal on the first "Transformers" movie in 2007 and walked off with about $75 million after the sci-fi event film grossed $708 million worldwide and became one of the year’s top DVD sellers.

Several executives who have seen the most recent pre-release audience surveys are predicting a five-day domestic opening exceeding $160 million. That would beat "Spider-Man 2’s" $152 million in 2004, currently the five-day record for any film debuting on a Wednesday.