In 2001, Eddie Murphy starred alongside the likes of Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers in the ever-so-popular family film Shrek, which became such a blockbuster hit, it went on to generate over $480 million worldwide. So was it really that surprising to hear that a follow-up was being developed the following year? Probably not.
Two more films followed in the Shrek saga, bringing its total box office gross to $2 billion, and with such an enormous franchise under Eddie’s belt, trust and believe that he earned a fortune for his role as Donkey — but how much did he make from all three films?
Eddie, who once lost nearly $100 million from a disastrous box office flop, has been securing some of the most lucrative movie deals in Hollywood since the early ‘90s, having landed his big break on Saturday Night Live. His salary demands these days are roughly $20 million with an additional percentage earned from box office sales, which has helped him amass an impressive $130 million net worth.
How Much Was Eddie Murphy Paid For ‘Shrek’?
For the first film, Eddie took home a cool $3 million for voicing the character of Donkey. He was only expected to make $350,000 from the role itself, but since he had signed a deal that allowed him to bank on a percentage of the box office revenue, that number significantly increased to the seven-figure sum.
After seeing how well Shrek performed not just in the US but worldwide, it was clear that if there was going to be a follow-up film, Eddie was bound to receive a huge pay rise — his salary ended up increasing by $7 million to a cool $10 million.
Shrek 2 made close to $930 million from ticket sales, making it one of the most successful animated family films of all-time, so the $10 million Eddie received was practically nothing compared to what the studio made because once you include merchandise and DVD sales, Shrek 2 made DreamWorks Animation more than a billion dollars!
Eddie’s salary for 2007’s Shrek the Third was never disclosed, but if he was already earning eight figures for the second motion picture, would it be fair to assume he received close to double the amount for the third installment? We’d like to think so.
For 2010’s Shrek Forever After, it’s been reported that the father of 11 made another $12 million, plus an additional percentage from the film’s box office revenue, and given that the flick went on to make more than $750 million worldwide, Eddie would have made between $15-20 million once all was said and done.
In 2016, the comedian spoke out about potentially reprising his role as Donkey for a fifth installment, and when asked by Collider whether he thought DreamWorks would ever want to continue with the franchise, Eddie had no doubts that there’ll be plenty of more Shrek movies to follow in the coming years.
He even revealed that film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg had already started developing a treatment plan for the next movie, though an official announcement has yet to be made, confirming that fans can expect Shrek 5 in the near future.
“Anything that’s been as successful as ‘Shrek’, anything that people really like, they’re always going to make those movies. They don’t stop making those types of movies until the audience says ‘no more!’” he said.
“If it’s been successful you’ll see another ‘Toy Story’, and ‘Shrek’ is one of those movies. And they took a nice long break. The next ‘Shrek’ … I think Jeffrey [Katzenberg, producer] told me 2019. But they’ve got a good script, they wrote a nice good script.”
While Eddie believed Shrek 5 would be released in 2019, DreamWorks has said next to nothing about a follow-up to 2010’s Shrek Forever After, but given that there’s already a script in development, it would seem as if another movie could certainly be in the works sooner than we think.
Still, one has to wonder whether the original cast will be back to reprise their roles. Eddie has already shown interest in coming back to play Donkey, but what about Cameron Diaz? She famously retired from the movie industry after wrapping production on the 2014 comedy-drama Annie, starring Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhane Wallis.
Perhaps with the right script, a little convincing from DreamWorks and a hefty salary fee will make Cameron come out of retirement — even if it means to only star in an upcoming Shrek movie because we couldn’t imagine watching the fifth installment without Princess Fiona, could you?
Eddie remains one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood earning close to $20 million per motion picture. If he plans to return for a fifth Shrek film, he could potentially land his biggest salary from the franchise yet given the anticipation from fans, who've been waiting for a follow-up for well over a decade now.