Johnny Depp has reportedly signed a new deal with Dior worth $20 million (£16 million), which would make it the most lucrative men’s fragrance deal in history. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor has been the face of Dior Sauvage fragrance for men since 2015. With previous reports revealing that Dior sold a bottle of Sauvage every three seconds in 2021, it’s safe to say that the partnership has been lucrative for both sides.

It also explains why, despite countless brands and Hollywood projects deciding to part ways with the 59-year-old, the French luxury fashion house stood by the actor all the way through his highly-publicised defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022.

Citing sources who asked to remain anonymous, both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter disclosed that the star had signed a three-year extension with the brand worth upwards of $20 million. The former highlighted that Depp’s figures eclipse “Robert Pattinson’s $12 million deal to serve as a spokesperson for Dior Homme and Brad Pitt’s $7 million pact to promote Chanel No. 5.”

Months after Depp came out victorious from his defamation trial, Dior posted photos of the actor backstage in Paris before performing with the late musician Jeff Beck. In its caption, Dior Beauty called the actor “fearless yet human, just like Sauvage.”

During a financial presentation in January 2023, Bernard Arnault, CEO of Dior’s parent company LVMH, said the “remarkable success” of the fragrance was “driven by the image of Johnny Depp.”

In just a couple of days, the actor’s new film, Jeanne du Barry, will open this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

On the highly divisive decision, the festival’s director Thierry Fremaux said: “I don’t see Maïwenn’s film as a controversial choice at all, because if Johnny Depp had been banned from working it would have been different, but that’s not the case. We only know one thing, it’s the justice system and I think he won the legal case. But the movie isn’t about Johnny Depp.”