Scarlett Johansson pay Black Widow: Star make $15 million for movie.
Black Widow movie star Scarlett Johansson will earn more for her role the solo film with a salary that matches the paydays earned by fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe actors Chris Hemsworth & Chris Evans. Johansson first debuted as Natasha Romanoff In Iron Man 2, and became an integral part of the team for The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Though she’s one of the few members of the original Avengers team who hasn’t starred in her own movie, she was a major supporting character in the Captain America franchise. Black Widow was one of Steve Rogers’ (Evans) allies in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and eventually joined his team in Captain America: Civil War.
Though Black Widow has been ever-present in the MCU since Phase 1, and she’s one of the heroes who survived Thanos’ snap at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the character hasn’t starred in her own film. That will change in Phase 4 of the MCU, which will give fans the Black Widow movie they’ve long asked for from Marvel Studios. The character’s history has been hinted at in both The Avengers and Age of Ultron, but Black Widow will give Marvel a chance to truly dive in and explore the character. And, considering Black Widow will be Johansson’s first starring vehicle in the MCU, it makes sense that her payday will be on par with that of her fellow Marvel stars.
THR reports that Johansson will earn $15 million for her starring turn in Black Widow, which matches the paydays Hemsworth and Evans each earned for their roles in Avengers: Infinity War. It’s also on par with what the two actors earned for Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: Civil War, respectively, as well as Avengers 4. According to THR, what Johansson will earn on Black Widow is a massive increase from her appearance in The Avengers, where she pulled in a “low seven-figure salary.”
However, the $15 million payday is well above what Marvel stars typically make on their first solo movies – though, Black Widow is an incredibly atypical case since Johansson will have played the role for nearly 10 years across seven movies by that point. While Johansson’s Black Widow payday is smaller than previous reports, THR does note that multiple sources confirmed the actress’s $15 million salary. When asked for comment by THR, Marvel Studios responded: “Marvel Studios disputes the accuracy of these numbers, and as a matter of policy, we never publicly disclose salaries or deal terms.”
It may have been a long time coming, but it’s heartening to see Marvel Studios pay its male and female stars equally – at least, in terms of Johansson, Evans and Hemsworth (Robert Downey Jr. is still the highest paid MCU star). Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has teased the MCU will have more female-led superhero movies in the coming years, with Black Widow being the first. However, with women often receiving less money for the same amount of work as men – not just in entertainment, but in many, many industries – hopefully Marvel will make strides for equality in terms of salary as well. That seems to be the case with Black Widow, but for Marvel’s unannounced projects, it remains to be seen.
