Denzel Washington’s Salary For Streaming Movies Reportedly Revealed

Denzel Washington‘s salary for streaming movies has reportedly been revealed. With a career that spans over three decades, Washington is an award-winning, celebrated performer. He has been nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning two, and continues to act in high-caliber projects. His latest undertaking is Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, which is a modern-day, New York-set reimagining of the Akira Kurosawa film High and Low. The movie is a co-production of Apple TV+ and A24 and is expected to be released on August 22, 2025.

As per Puck, Washington’s pay for streaming movies has seemingly been unveiled. The actor is getting a hefty $35 million for Netflix’s Here Comes the Flood. This information reportedly comes from “three sources familiar,” though there was no quote from Washington himself nor Netflix, Apple, or A24. It is thought that this salary was set to match what he was given by Apple and A24 for Highest 2 Lowest, which was also set at $35 million. This trend implies that the $35 million value is Washington’s standard salary for streaming projects.

What This Means For Denzel Washington

He Is Still A Huge Name Draw

This is a hefty sum for a streaming movie and says a lot about how big Washington is in the industry. Because the standard is still being determined for streaming movies and the cost, streamers are often more careful about how they spend their budgets. To spend big money on a movie, it has to be high-profile enough to draw in a significant audience. With his decades-long career behind him, Washington is still clearly a huge name draw in movies, even at 70 years old.

Here Comes the Flood also stars Robert Pattinson and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

While the release plan for Here Comes the Flood has yet to be detailed, Highest 2 Lowest also benefits from the fact that it will get some theatrical viewing. The movie is set to premiere at Cannes on May 19 and then will get a short-term release starting on August 22. The movie will be theatrically exclusive for a couple of weeks before releasing on Apple TV on September 5. As such, this will give the movie time to rack up some additional revenue in theaters before relying on streaming interest.

Our Take On Denzel Washington’s Streaming Salary

Streaming Movies Are Getting Bigger And Bigger

Washington’s salary reveal speaks to the current state of streaming in the film industry. They are no longer smaller-scale films designed solely for the streaming service having original content.

Rather, these are high-quality movies from auteur directors, with A-list theatrical stars attached. This has been known to be the case for several years now, but stars like Washington getting such big salaries for streaming movies really highlights this.

Source: Puck