Denzel Washington is reportedly raking in $35 million a movie these days.
The Oscar-winning actor is said to have earned that to star in Netflix’s upcoming crime thriller Here I Come, Puck reports. According to “three sources familiar” with the deal, the paycheck matches what Washington was paid by Apple and A24 for Spike Lee’s new neo-noir film, Highest 2 Lowest.
Inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller High and Low—whom Spike Lee honors with a solo credit at the film’s end—Highest 2 Lowest reimagines the crime classic about an abduction and ransom scheme. Washington stars as David King, a legendary music mogul known for having the “best ears in the business,” who finds himself at the center of a ransom plot that forces a harrowing moral decision.
The film marks a reunion between longtime collaborators and friends. Lee and Washington have delivered classics like Malcolm X and Mo’ Better Blues. With Highest 2 Lowest, it’s Lee’s first feature shot in his native New York City since 2012’s Red Hook Summer. The return has “reignited his love for the city as a visual playground in ways that vibrate throughout” the film, according to film critic David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter.
The film—featuring Jeffrey Wright, A,$AP Rocky, and Ilfenesh Hadera—premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19 and earned a six-minute standing ovation. During the event, Lee paid tribute to Washington for making the trip to France despite his tight schedule: he is currently starring in Broadway’s record-breaking production of Othello.
Spike Lee pays tribute to Denzel Washington after the ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ premiere in #Cannes2025.
Washington had to fly back to NYC to resume performances of ‘Othello’ on Broadway before the screening ended pic.twitter.com/F1tD2fqH46
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) May 19, 2025
The film has earned a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes thus far, but the reviews are glowing.
“Lee has made a film that feels modest and grand at once, the kind of movie you can see on a Saturday night just for kicks and still be thinking about the next day,” Stephanie Zacharek wrote for Time.
“Highest 2 Lowest isn’t just a welcome reunion between two of cinema’s greats after a long break,” wrote Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture “It’s a triumphant work from a filmmaker who has smartly updated a story to discuss relevant and personal themes while never compromising his voice.”
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