DC's Extended Universe has found very positive feedback from the release of "Wonder Woman," and can be said that the film is now a crown jewel of the superhero film franchise. However, for all its prestige, there is talk about Gal Gadot's pay, and how it compares to Henry Cavill — another actor who has also been working for the DCEU.
Gal Gadot was offered $300,000 for each of her three DCEU films
First, the facts. According to an article by Variety, Gal Gadot signed a contract for three films in the DCEU. We know these films to be "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," the aforementioned "Wonder Woman" standalone film, and the upcoming "Justice League." In these three films she plays Wonder Woman, and if the article is to be believed, she has signed to receive $300,000 for each movie.
Of course, $300,000 is in no way a trivial amount of money for anyone to receive. Yet, it still begs the question of whether Gadot was compensated only that amount for the overwhelming success "Wonder Woman" has received. Seeing the amount of support and revenue the movie has garnered makes people believe that she should have received more.
According to ComicBook.com, a $300,000-deal per movie is still the "low-end" of major blockbuster pay checks. But perhaps this is just an "entry-level" paycheck; "Wonder Woman" was Gadot's debut after all, and it would not be surprising for her to be offered that sum of money, for starters. Furthermore, Gadot is not alone in this, as Chris Evans was offered the same amount when he was asked to play the shield-bearing hero in the first "Captain America" standalone movie.
Was there a gender pay gap?
However, as ComicBook.com observes, there may be actors who just "jump out of the theatrical gate with additional zeroes on their paychecks."
When Henry Cavill was signed to play a Superman debut in "Man of Steel," he received $14 million right off the bat. Fans had to wonder about the reasons for this, as Gadot and Cavill's difference in popularity is not too far wide apart (and Gadot's previous exposure thanks to the "Fast and Furious" franchise helped a lot, too).
Some might say that the gap is because of brand name recognition, but that may still not be reason enough to justify the perceived pay gap. That very same article by ComicBook dubs Wonder Woman as "one of the most recognizable superheroines of all-time."
These observations undeniably warrant discussion, but let's not get ahead of ourselves and say that this is another instance of a "gender pay gap" — there could still be a lot of reasons why Gadot was offered that much money and the actors themselves have yet to comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, Gal Gadot's contract is up for renewal, anyway and if the success of "Wonder Woman" is any indication, Warner Bros. would be smart to increase Gal Gadot's paycheck this time if only to keep her working with the rest of the DCEU.
