What Is Chris Columbus' Net Worth?
Chris Columbus is an American filmmaker who has a net worth of $90 million. Chris Columbus is one of the most successful directors in the entertainment industry, having directed such blockbusters as "Home Alone" (1990), "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), "Stepmom" (1998), "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (2001), "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002), and "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" (2010).
Chris has produced several of the films he directed, and he has produced more than 20 other films, including "Fantastic Four" (2005), "Night at the Museum" (2006), "The Help" (2011), "Mediterranea" (2015), "The Witch" (2015), "Patti Cake$" (2017), and "Scoob!" (2020). Columbus also wrote the films "Reckless" (1984), "Gremlins" (1984), "The Goonies" (1985), "Young Sherlock Holmes" (1985), "Heartbreak Hotel" (1988), "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" (1989), "Only the Lonely" (1991), "Nine Months" (1995), "Christmas with the Kranks" (2004), and "The Christmas Chronicles 2" (2020). Chris co-founded the production company 1492 Pictures in 1994, and in 2013, he co-founded Maiden Voyage Pictures with his daughter Eleanor. In 2017, he teamed up with Haim Saban, Michael Barnathan, and Jeremy Zag to launch ZAG Animation Studios.
Early Life
Chris Columbus was born Chris Joseph Columbus on September 10, 1958, in Spangler, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Champion, Ohio, with mother Mary and father Alex, and his heritage is Czech and Italian. Mary worked in a factory, and Alex worked in an aluminum plant and was also a coal miner. During his childhood, Chris enjoyed drawing storyboards, and he started making 8mm films as a high school student. Columbus attended John F. Kennedy High School, then he studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where future Emmy-winning actor Alec Baldwin and future Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman were his classmates. Due to Chris forgetting to renew his scholarship, he had to work at a factory to pay for his education and secretly worked on a short screenplay during his shifts. One of his professors later submitted that script to help Columbus sign with an agent. In 1980, Chris directed the short film "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here," which caught the attention of director Steven Spielberg. In 2014, the short film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
Career
Columbus began his professional career as the screenwriter of the 1984 "Reckless," then he wrote "Gremlins" (1984), "The Goonies" (1985), and "Young Sherlock Holmes" (1985). Steven Spielberg called Chris in 1981 and said he was interested in buying the "Gremlins" script, and he served as an executive producer on the film. After the release of "Gremlins," which grossed $212.9 million against an $11 million budget, Columbus relocated to Los Angeles to work for Spielberg's production company, Amblin Entertainment. He returned to New York after two years in L.A. and created the animated series "Galaxy High School," which aired 13 episodes on CBS. Chris made his feature film directing debut with 1987's "Adventures in Babysitting," then he directed 1988's "Heartbreak Hotel," which he also wrote. He co-wrote 1989's "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland," then he was recruited to direct 1990's "Home Alone" by the film's screenwriter, John Hughes. Starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, and Catherine O'Hara, "Home Alone" grossed $476.7 million against an $18 million budget, and Columbus directed the 1992 sequel, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," which brought in $359 million at the box office. "Home Alone" earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy," and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Motion Picture.
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Chris wrote and directed 1991's "Only the Lonely," then he directed 1993's "Mrs. Doubtfire," which starred Robin Williams and Sally Field, grossed $441.3 million at the box office, and won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Next, Columbus wrote, directed, and produced 1995's "Nine Months" and directed and produced 1998's "Stepmom" and 1999's "Bicentennial Man." In the early 2000s, he directed and executive produced "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Both films were massive hits, grossing $1.017 billion and $879.8 million at the box office, respectively. He also produced 2004's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Chris wrote and produced 2004's "Christmas with the Kranks," then he directed and produced the 2005 film adaptation of the 1996 Broadway musical "Rent" and the 2009 teen romantic comedy "I Love You, Beth Cooper." In 2010, he directed and produced "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," which grossed $226.4 million at the box office. His follow-up, the 2015 Adam Sandler-Kevin James comedy "Pixels," earned $244.9 million. In 2020, Columbus directed "The Christmas Chronicles 2," which he also co-wrote and produced.
Personal Life
Chris married choreographer Monica Devereux on August 6, 1983, and they have welcomed four children together, Eleanor, Brendan, Isabella, and Violet. All of Columbus' children have appeared in his films, and Monica was a choreographer on "Adventures in Babysitting," "Heartbreak Hotel," and "Only the Lonely." Violet followed in her father's footsteps and became a filmmaker, directing the 2022 documentary "The Exiles." Eleanor produced the documentary, and she has also co-produced several films with Chris. Columbus endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Awards and Nominations
In 2012, Columbus received an Academy Award nomination for Best Motion Picture of the Year for "The Help." The film also earned him awards from the Black Reel Awards and Christopher Awards and nominations from the BAFTA Awards, PGA Awards, Gold Derby Awards, and Awards Circuit Community Awards. He also received five BAFTA Award nominations for the "Harry Potter" films, winning Best Feature Film for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" in 2004. In 2012, the Art Directors Guild honored Chris with the Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award for the "Harry Potter" films, and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was named Best Foreign Language Film at the 2003 Mainichi Film Concours. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" both earned Hugo Award nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation, Saturn Award nominations (from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films) for Best Director, and Amanda Award nominations (Norway) for Best Foreign Feature Film. He also received Saturn Award nominations for Best Writing for "Gremlins" (1985) and "Young Sherlock Holmes" (1986). Columbus earned Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best First Feature for "Mediterranea" (2016) and "Patti Cake$ (2018), and "Mediterranea" received an Audience Award nomination at the 2015 Gotham Awards. In 2005, Columbus earned a Satellite Award nomination for Outstanding Director for "Rent."
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