While Wonder Woman has been almost universally hailed as a feminist fist-pump moment – and enjoyed major success at the box office, too – it seems that even Diana of Themyscira is subject to the gender pay gap. Sigh…
Back in 2014, it was reported that actress Gal Gadot would receive $300,000 apiece to appear as Wonder Woman in three DC comic book adaptations: last year’s Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, her standalone film, and the forthcoming ensemble movie, Justice League.
There are a few factors to take into consideration when looking at Gadot’s paycheck. First, there’s the fact that (unless you’re remarkably au fait with the Fast & Furious franchise, in which case, fair play) the actress was largely unknown outside her home country of Israel before her DC casting. Plus, landing a superhero role doesn’t always mean that the star in question will be taking home millions. For his debut outing as Captain America in The First Avenger, Chris Evans was also paid $300,000 (though this salary has risen as Marvel’s Avengers franchise has grown).
When you place Gadot’s Wonder Woman salary against that of her DC colleagues, however, things start to become a lot more depressing. For his first outing as Superman, in 2013’s Man of Steel, Henry Cavill earned $14 million. Eye. Roll.
It’s no secret that Hollywood has a gender pay gap problem: actresses such as Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman – critically acclaimed stars who are bankable at the box office – have all used their platform to discuss the issue, making headlines by discussing times when their male co-star’s paycheck has vastly outstripped their own.
In this particular case, though, there is a strong chance that things will change. What with Wonder Woman having taken $572 million worldwide to date and a sequel in the works, Gadot will surely be in a far better position to negotiate a salary that takes into account her newly acquired star power.
This post was written by Katie Rosseinsky. It originally appeared on our sister site, Grazia.
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