Proving that the drama surrounding “Wonder Woman” is almost as entertaining as the movie itself, the latest viral news to set social media on fire is the story that while Henry Cavill made $14 million for “Man of Steel,” while Gal Gadot only made $300,000 for the much better performing “Wonder Woman.” Clearly, or at least uninformed opinion suggests, Hollywood sexism is in play. Actually, according to Vanity Fair, the comparison is Apples To Oranges.
Why did Cavill make $14 million for ‘Man of Steel?’
No one has broken down the figure of $14 million that Cavill is alleged to have been paid, but the best guess by Hollywood insiders is that it includes a lot more than just the base pay for appearing in the movie.
Contracts in the film business have a lot of clauses that can increase an actor’s or director’s pay depending on circumstances, such as how well the movie performed and whether the actor or director has an option for a sequel.
Cavill appeared as Superman in “Batman vs. Superman” and will appear as the same character in “Justice League” and the likely “Man of Steel 2.” “Man of Steel,” by the way, made a respectable $668 million worldwide, which is hardly box office flop territory,
Why did Gal Gadot make $300,000 for ‘Wonder Woman?’
Also very likely, the $300,000 figure that Gal Gadot got for “Wonder Woman” was just the base pay. If her agent was worth anything, Gadot is very likely to make millions on the back end as her movie continues to tear up the box office worldwide, exceeding a half a billion dollars as of this writing.
Moreover, the success of the first movie is going to make Gadot’s payday for now inevitable sequel all the more generous.
What about other superhero movies?
It looks like the actors who play in the Marvel Comics universe have has similar pay arrangements. Robert Downey Jr. Chris Evens, and Chris Hemsworth, who play Iron Man, Captain America, and the Mighty Thor respectively, got $500,000 each for their first movies, but then garnered millions as the franchise took off and became machines for printing money.
Downey is reported to have made $50 million for the Avengers movies, which made billions.
The bottom line
When you add up all of the bonuses, riders, and other clauses in their contracts, it is likely that Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot are making similar money for bringing their iconic superheroes to the big screen. So, whatever sexism may exist in the entertainment industry is certainly not coming into play in this case.
