Director Bryan Singer will reportedly earn $40 million from 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' even though he was fired from the movie

• Bryan Singer is expected to earn at least $40 million for directing "Bohemian Rhapsody," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
• Singer was fired from the movie toward the end of principal photography, but because he still has sole director credit on the movie, he was able to negotiate bonuses after the movie made back its $52 million budget.

Director Bryan Singer is expected to earn at least $40 million thanks to the success of his movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" - despite being fired from the movie halfway through.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Singer is looking to receive the big payday thanks to the monster global success of the Queen biopic and because of his track record in the industry before the on-set drama (he directed numerous "X-Men" movies).

But it's a puzzling paycheck for a director who was fired from the movie at the end of principal photography after being absent from set and clashing with his star Rami Malek, who plays Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the movie. (Dexter Fletcher took over as director to complete the movie.)

The reason Singer will receive this hefty backend compensation is because, despite being fired from the movie, Fox still gave him the sole director credit on the movie, according to the trade. Because of that, he was entitled to negotiate bonuses after the movie broke even on its $52 million budget. The movie has made over $800 million worldwide.

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And that box office (and presumably Singer's back end) is only going to rise. "Rhapsody" got a 7.5% bump at the domestic box office over the weekend following five Oscar nominations. That could climb more if the movie takes home some wins on Oscar night.

We don't know what Singer got up front for making "Rhapsody," but he's looking to make a career-best $10 million for his next movie, "Red Sonja."

He will still direct "Red Sonja" despite new allegations of sexual misconduct against him, including accusations of sex with underage boys, contained in a report from The Atlantic published last week. Singer called the article a "homophobic smear piece" and denied the allegations. After the article's publication, the movie's producer, Millennium Films, confirmed Singer was still attached to direct.

Singer and Fox did not respond to a request for comment.

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