- Comedian Conan O’Brien will host the Oscars ceremony for the first time this year.
- His pay for the night might be a lot less than you might think.
- The 97th Academy Awards will be held on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The 97th annual Academy Awards are taking place this weekend, with comedian Conan O’Brien on hosting duties.
While most of the focus is on the Oscar winners themselves, former hosts of the ceremony have also made a name for themselves — both good and bad.
Previous hosts have also shone a spotlight on the pay for the night — which might be a lot less than you’d think.
Hosts likely earn around $15,000
It appears that over the last decade, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organizing body behind the awards, has kept the one-time fee at around $15,000.
The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2013 that hosts were paid $15,000 to $25,000 for the Oscars, the former of which is the minimum negotiated by the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA.
Jimmy Kimmel, who had hosted the Oscars back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, said in 2022 that he was paid $15,000 for the job.
“It sounds like a lot for one night, but it’s months of work leading up to it,” Kimmel said.
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Speaking after hosting the 2024 awards, Kimmel opened up on how he felt about hosting and the pay.
“They say it’s a thankless job and I wouldn’t necessarily describe it like that, because when it goes well, it isn’t. But if it’s not, it’s a tough spot to be in,” Kimmel said on an episode of the “Politickin'” podcast.
He also cited the low fee while explaining his decision not to accept the role in 2025, which he said would have been too demanding.
The true value of hosting the ceremony lies in the exposure
For hosts, the Oscars — and any major awards ceremony — serve as a global stage that can catapult their careers to new heights, with the visibility potentially leading to future deals, brand partnerships, and other media opportunities.
They are, after all, speaking to a room filled with Hollywood’s biggest names (as well as having their set of jokes broadcast to millions of viewers worldwide).
Other awards reportedly pay even less — with one big exception
The minimum for hosting the Grammys may be even lower than the Oscars.
A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson told Forbes in 2017 that the Grammys host is required to be paid at least $5,000.
Meanwhile, the Tony Awards has been said to pay its hosts as little as $2,700.
The real money seems to be in hosting the Golden Globes. Jerrod Carmichael said he was paid $500,000 for the gig during his monologue in 2023.
