Bryan Singer was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody with fewer than three weeks left on the production schedule. He was replaced with Dexter Fletcher, but was still credited as the director of the movie. Now that the Rami Malek showcase has gone on to make more than $800 million worldwide, and pick up five Oscar nominations, Singer is set to pick up a lot of money.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bryan Singer is expected to walk away with more than $40 million.
THR came to that figure via "two knowledgeable sources," and it comes from Bryan Singer's track record of making money, especially from the X-Men movies, in addition to what was reported to be an impressive backend provision in his Bohemian Rhapsody contract.
Considering Bohemian Rhapsody had a reported production budget of $52 million (per Box Office Mojo) and made $817,637,665 worldwide, plenty of people are making plenty of profit off of this movie.
However, THR noted a potential snag. Backend provisions can be forfeited if a director is fired for cause. That may be the case here, but Bryan Singer was allowed to retain his director credit. So it's likely that negotiations were held at some point, allowing for Singer to retain credit and get some kind of box office-contingent compensation. But that would've happened before the film took off to make nearly $1 billion around the world, sources suggested to THR.
Either way, Bryan Singer is walking away with a lot of money -- and the ego boost of seeing the film do so well at the box office, with fan reviews, and at awards shows.
Bryan Singer posted that it was an "honor" for Bohemian Rhapsody to win the Golden Globe win for Best Drama. Since then, the movie was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, and Best Actor for Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury.
Bryan Singer spoke out after he was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody. From his perspective, he asked Fox for some time off toward the end of filming to return to the U.S. to address the pressing health concerns of one of his parents. That taxing experience took a toll on his own health, he said. The studio was unwilling to accommodate him, he said, and fired him. Dexter Fletcher was hired very late in production, and did add a few scenes to the movie, but most of it was from Bryan Singer.
Next, Bryan Singer is reportedly negotiating an upfront fee of $10 million to direct Red Sonja. That would be his highest upfront fee to date, THR reports.
Bryan Singer has also had a controversial year on another front. In early 2019, Singer was met with more allegations of sexual assault against underage boys. In response, GLAAD withdrew its nomination for Bohemian Rhapsody at this year's GLAAD awards. Millennium Films, which is making Red Sonja, issued a statement of support for Singer from producer Avi Lerner, saying the film was still in development and Singer was still attached.
Bohemian Rhapsody will compete at the 2019 Oscars on February 24 on ABC, with Rami Malek looking like a strong candidate for Best Actor. Don't forget to keep our 2019 film schedule handy to follow every movie release in this very busy year.
