James McAvoy reveals movie that continues to earn him 'bonkers' royalties

James McAvoy says 2016 horror film 'Split' remains his most consistent source of residual income

James McAvoy has revealed that Split, the 2016 psychological horror film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, continues to earn him regular residual payments nearly a decade after its release.

The actor, 47, played a man with dissociative identity disorder in the film, which was produced by Blumhouse Productions. Made on a reported budget of $9 million (£6.7 million), Split went on to gross $278 million (£207 million) worldwide, becoming a major commercial success.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McAvoy explained that although actors sometimes receive small residual cheques from previous projects, Split is the one film that consistently generates payments for him.

"You get the odd cheque for, you know, a couple 100 quid here or sometimes you get checks for, like, 25 cents and you're like, 'It literally costs more to post this than it did for me to cash it,'" he said. "But the only one that really consistently pays me is Split."

McAvoy also recalled the film's financial performance shortly after its release, describing how quickly it began generating returns.

"I think it was made for like $6 million or something like that? And let's say they spent 30 advertising it. In our first weekend, we made 40, so we were in profit," he said. "Our first residual cheque came at the end of the first weekend. It was bonkers."

The actor also discussed what he learned from working with Shyamalan on Split and its sequel, Glass. He credited the filmmaker's preparation and ability to communicate his plans effectively with the crew.

"The thing I took away from him is his preparedness," McAvoy said, explaining that Shyamalan made both films on modest budgets while carefully maximising shooting time and resources.