What is Jason Blum's Net Worth and Salary?
Jason Blum is an American film producer who has a net worth of $200 million. Jason Blum earned his fortune as the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions. Blumhouse Productions specializes in horror movies and series, with notable titles including the "Paranormal Activity," "Insidious," and "The Purge" franchises. Blumhouse has also produced many acclaimed titles outside of the horror genre, such as the films "Whiplash" and "BlacKkKlansman" and the television drama "The Normal Heart."Blumhouse is known for producing low-budget movies that go on to become highly profitable franchises. For example, the original "Insidious" earned $100 million on a budget of just $1.5 million. His average movie budget is around $6 million. His average global box office gross is $60 million. His movies have grossed more than $5 billion worldwide, and counting.
Early Life and Education
Jason Blum was born in 1969 in Los Angeles, California to Jewish parents Irving and Shirley. His father was the director of the Ferus Gallery, a contemporary art gallery, while his mother was an art historian and professor. For his higher education, Blum went to Vassar College, from which he graduated in 1991. Notably, he was roommates with future filmmaker Noah Baumbach.
Career Beginnings
Blum began his producing career at Ethan Hawke's Malaparte theater company. After that, he got his start in the film industry working as an executive at the Weinstein brothers' company Miramax. Blum subsequently worked at Paramount Pictures. In 1995, he financed his first film, "Kicking and Screaming," written and directed by his former college roommate Noah Baumbach.
Blumhouse Productions – Movies
In 2000, Blum founded the film and television production company Blum Israel Productions, which was eventually renamed Blumhouse Productions. The initial model of the company was to produce films on small budgets that gave directors more creative freedom. Blumhouse demonstrated this model to enormous success with its breakthrough production, Oren Peli's 2007 supernatural horror film "Paranormal Activity." Made for only $15,000, the film grossed more than $193 million globally, and spawned a franchise consisting of numerous sequels. Blumhouse has had further success with other horror franchises, notably "Insidious," "The Purge," and "Halloween." The company has also produced such major horror titles as "Mercy"; "Ouija"; "Sinister"; "Jessabelle"; "The Visit"; "Visions"; "Curve"; "The Gift"; "Ma"; "The Black Phone"; "Mr. Harrigan's Phone"; and "M3GAN." Blumhouse had one of its biggest hits with Jordan Peele's 2017 horror film "Get Out," which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
Through Blumhouse Productions, Blum has also produced a number of films outside of the horror genre. Some of the most notable ones have been Damien Chazelle's 2014 psychological drama "Whiplash" and Spike Lee's 2018 biographical crime film "BlacKkKlansman," both of which earned Academy Award nominations for Best Picture. Other non-horror films produced by Blumhouse have included the psychological drama "The Fever"; the comedy "Best Night Ever"; the musical drama "Jem and the Holograms"; the cyberpunk action film "Upgrade"; the black comedy "Vengeance"; and Richard Linklater's adaptation of the stage musical "Merrily We Roll Along."
Blumhouse Productions – Television
Blumhouse began its television production in 2002 with the television film "Hysterical Blindness," based on the eponymous stage play by Laura Cahill. The company didn't produce for television again until 2013 with the paranormal investigation reality show "Stranded," which ran for six episodes on the Syfy network. Blum had one of his greatest critical successes the year after that with the HBO television film "The Normal Heart," based on the Larry Kramer stage play about the early days of the AIDS crisis in New York City. At the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, it won Outstanding Television Movie. Also in 2014, Blum produced the science-fiction mystery miniseries "Ascension."
Blumhouse continued its television success in 2015 with the HBO documentary miniseries "The Jinx," about real estate scion and convicted murderer Robert Durst. The program won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Blumhouse also produced three other series in 2015: "Eye Candy," "South of Hell," and the game show "Hellevator." Since then, the company has produced many other major series, including the miniseries "Ghoul," "Sharp Objects," and "The Good Lord Bird" and the horror anthology series "Into the Dark" and "The Purge."
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Other Activities
Beyond his production company, Blum sits on the boards of the Sundance Institute, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Public Theater in New York, and his alma mater Vassar College. He also donated millions of dollars to Vassar in the largest single gift given to the school by a male alumnus.
Personal Life
In the summer of 2012, Blum wed journalist Lauren Schuker.
Real Estate
Jason and his wife Lauren Schuker own around $40 million worth of real estate in Los Angeles and New York City. Here's a rundown of their known property portfolio:
In May 2020, Jason paid $14.3 million for a Frank Gehry designed home in Santa Monica, California. The previous owner bought the property in 2005 for $4.55 million then acquired the home next door for $2.2 million in 2009 to create an incredible 1-acre property.
In 2019 Jason paid $9.5 million for a home in LA's Hancock Park neighborhood and $10 million for a townhouse in Brooklyn Heights.
He also owns a $6.5 million penthouse condo at The Ritz Carlton Residences in downtown LA.
And finally, the couple own a $10 million townhouse in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.
