Surprising amount previous Oscars hosts have been paid for the role

While the Oscars is one of the biggest nights of the year, you'll be surprised to learn how much people are paid to host the star-studded affair.

Oscars night is well and truly here, and the likes of Demi Moore, Timothée Chalamet, and Cynthia Erivo will be making their way to Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre — where the ceremony has been held for over two decades.

And, like every awards ceremony, the Oscars needs a host.

Who is hosting the Oscars this year?

This year's host is talk show host Conan O'Brien, which marks his first time hosting the Oscars.

The news was announced last year. Speaking at the time, O'Brien said: "America demanded it and now it's happening: Taco Bell's new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I'm hosting the Oscars."

Conan O'Brien is hosting the 97th Oscars (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

As to why he's doing it, O'Brien quipped it was just so he could get an invite to the highly anticipated event.

He said in news conference earlier this week: "I’ve never even been invited, to be honest. I only agreed to host so that I could get invited."

Going on to discuss the kind of topics he'll cover (as well as movies, of course), O'Brien shared, as per USA Today: "As the host, I cannot ignore the moment we’re in. But we’re threading the needle, and we have to remember what we’re celebrating and infuse the show with positivity.

"It’s a difficult line to walk, but I’m determined to figure it out."

Who has hosted previously?

While tonight marks O'Brien's first Oscars gig, fellow talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has hosted four times.

Meanwhile, Billy Crystal has hosted it an impressive nine times, and, like Kimmel, Whoopi Goldberg has played host four times.

Billy Crystal has hosted the Oscars an impressive nine times (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Only Murders in the Building star Steve Martin has hosted the award three times, and the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Hugh Jackman, David Letterman, and Seth MacFarlane have all hosted once.

How much are the Oscars hosts paid?

You'd think such a high profile gig would come with a huge pay packet, but this isn't really the case.

According to Kimmel, he was paid $15,000 for his previous hosting services.

Speaking on KROQ's Kevin and Bean radio show in 2017, he said shared the unexpectedly low sum.

"I think it’s illegal to pay nothing," he revealed at the time. "I’m not sure I was supposed to reveal this. But nobody told me not to. I consider this their fault."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, hosts are paid anywhere between $15,000-$25,000. Allegedly Seth MacFarlane was paid more than $15,000 when he hosted in 2013, said the outlet.

Jimmy Kimmel was the 2024 Oscars host (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

How does the fee compare to other awards?

While you probably expected that hosts would be paid more than $15,000 to host the Oscars, the hosting gig is actually one of the better paid awards nights.

It's said that Grammy hosts only have to be paid $5,000, says Business Insider, while Tony Awards hosts are paid as little as $2,700.

Meanwhile, the Golden Globes pays a pretty penny to whomever hosts the star-studded night.

Reportedly comedian and actor Jerrod Carmichael was paid a whopping $500,000 for hosting the 2023 Golden Globes. But this year's host, Nikki Glaser, was paid less. She did say she was still paid 'well', however.

"I'll get more next year," she said of her future plans to host again to Howard Stern.