It’s Oscar time and the red carpet will be laid out on the 10th of March to welcome Hollywood’s top celebrities who will compete for the coveted golden statuette. While the winning performances in each category will be the main focus of the Academy awards, an important cog in the Oscar wheel is the host of the ceremony who brings the events a full circle.
This year, popular television host Jimmy Kimmel will reprise his Oscar hosting duties in what will be his 4th time anchoring the show after 2017, 2018, and 2023. Last year, Kimmel spoke about the detailed preparation that one had to do for the event and the surprisingly low pay check that the Academy had earmarked for Oscar hosts.
Jimmy Kimmel Busted The Myth Surrounding Oscar Hosts’ Pay Day
Jimmy Kimmel is back again to host the Academy Awards on March 10th, 2024. The television personality will anchor the show for the 4th time in his career with only Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, and Bob Hope having had more outings than him in Oscar history. Known for his trademark wit and repartees, Kimmel is expected to keep the audience fully entertained.
The anchor who invited fellow Oscar host Wanda Sykes a year ago on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live, discussed the surprisingly low salary that is allotted to the Academy Award emcees for the event. He revealed that the official amount he received for hosting the Oscars was $15,000. Elaborating on why this was considered less, he said,
“It sounds like a lot for one night but it’s months of work leading up to it.”
Kimmel also stated that this was a fixed amount for any one who was asked to host the show. This indicates that even someone like Chris Rock would have done the job for the same pay check, although Rock’s Oscar fees have never been revealed in public.
While Sykes lightheartedly confessed that Oscar duties cost her more money than she received, Kimmel revealed that he was initially paid less than the SAG-AFTRA scale amount when he hosted the show for the first time.
Could Jimmy Kimmel Demand More Money For The Oscars 2024?
While Oscar 2024 host Jimmy Kimmel revealed the exact amount that he made for his duties, there is a possibility that he could demand a bit more than that this year. The television star said that he earned $15,000 to host the ceremony previously, which was the same price that would have been allotted to anyone anchoring the show.
But according to a 2013 review in The Hollywood Reporter that established the various budgets involved in planning the Academy Awards, the pay check for Oscar hosts was fixed at anything between $15,000 and $25,000.
Taking into account that Kimmel is now a host for the 4th time as he goes up on stage this coming weekend, there is a possibility that he could demand a higher salary for his experience. Alternatively, this raise may not make any difference to the celebrity considering his $15 million per year pay day for Jimmy Kimmel Live.
