Tim Allen's 'Santa Clause' Costar David Krumholtz Reveals Shocking Residuals
David Krumholtz doesn't receive much of a holiday bonus from his Santa Clause residuals.
"They're minimal because the movie plays so much," Krumholtz, 48, recently told Page Six of the checks he receives each year for the 1994 Christmas film starring Tim Allen.
The Numb3rs actor explained, "This is how residuals work: Every time it plays, you make less. It's a grade scale."
Krumholtz played Bernard, the head elf to Allen's Santa Claus, in the hugely successful holiday classic and its 2002 sequel. Though he did not reprise his role in the third installment in 2006, Krumholtz made a cameo in the 2022 Disney+ follow-up series, The Santa Clauses.
Krumholtz told the outlet that his residual checks were "good" in the first few years after the original movie's release, but these days, he makes "150 bucks a year" from the franchise.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame class of 2026 inductee, who is also known for his roles in 10 Things I Hate About You and the Harold & Kumar films, estimated that he earns the most in residuals from his appearance in 2023's Oppenheimer. (Krumholtz played real-life Nobel Prize-winning physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi in the biographical drama.)
When asked exactly how much he makes from the movie, Krumholtz joked, "That's none of your business! What kind of question is that?" He then added, "It's $12.73. It's enough to buy a hot dog in New York."
Though he's no longer making big money from The Santa Clause, Krumholtz still has plenty of memories from the set of the film and its sequel - including the time he saved 150 children from a fire.
"The crew is setting up the next shot. And I happen to catch out of the corner of my eye a bunch of little kids, like 7-year-olds, gathering around smoke on the second level," Krumholtz told Entertainment Weekly in 2024, explaining that one of the lights overheated. "And I'm like, ‘What the f*** is going on up there?' And they're just looking at it like, ‘Whoa,' and pointing to it."
Krumholtz kept the kids calm as got them to safety and alerted the crew to the fire. He received a bottle of champagne the next day as thanks, although he wasn't drinking at the time.
"I mean, I should have gotten money," he joked. "You know what I mean? Substantial money."
Krumholtz was also happy to reprise his role in The Santa Clauses, despite previously having negative feelings about his character.
"For the longest time, my ego wouldn't allow me to be associated with the character," he told Time in 2022. "I'll admit I resented [The Santa Clause] for a good portion of my 20s and 30s, but only having recently had children myself, I thought, ‘There's something sort of worth emulating about Bernard.' I wish I could be Bernard in a way."
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 5:52 PM.