The success of Bohemian Rhapsody last year isn’t lost upon many. The Queen biopic walked away with four Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Rami Malek, the big prize at the Golden Globes, and made about $900 million at the worldwide box office. That’s a lot of money that the late Freddie Mercury may not get to see himself, but it looks like his family will get their share of the film’s profits.
When Mercury died in 1991, he left his London mansion and 50% of his future earnings to Mary Austin, the “love of his life” and lifelong friend portrayed by Lucy Boynton in the movie. The other 50% was divided among his family: his parents, who have since passed, and his sister, Kashmira Bulsara.
According to Sunday Express, Austin will be making at least $60 million from Bohemian Rhapsody and Bulsara is looking at around $25 million. The remaining members of Queen, meanwhile, might be making $90 million each thanks to the film’s unpredictable success as the biggest musical biopic of all time.
Mary Austin had a significant role in the film, which tracked her and Mercury’s longtime friendship that began as a love story but shifted once Freddie began to embrace his sexuality. Austin would remain Freddie’s friend even after the romance, constantly looking out for him and also being present for the movie’s epic Live Aid finale.
Bulsara’s presence was less felt, as most of the family moments were based on Mercury’s rocky relationship with his father. But the real Bulsara made quite an impact on the set, as Malek recounted, supporting the future Oscar-winner.
She got to see me as young Freddy with long hair and, of course, the teeth, makeup—the whole kind of 1970s early glam rock look. She laughed. As you can imagine it was an incredibly kind of bizarre, alien moment for her… She did [cry] later on. On a serious note, she wrote me the most moving email. It was very powerful. To get that vote of appreciate from the people closest to them was everything to me.
Austin and Bulsara’s riches and screen time may grow in the future, however, as a sequel focusing on Freddie’s life post-Live Aid is reportedly under discussion already. If Malek returns for Bohemian Rhapsody 2, he may well become one of the few actors in history to be nominated for the same role twice, and maybe the first to ever win.
Published: Apr 12, 2019 08:51 am