Yes, ‘Infinity War’ has already earned over a billion dollars at the box office and while I still believe it won’t be the highest grossing movie of all time, it looks like it will make it into the top 3 or 4. But, that’s money which goes into the studios pocket. What about the actors? Think they could have made deals where they got a percentage of the box office earnings of the film?
Highly unlikely given the money- making juggernaut that Marvel Studios has become today. Maybe a few of them negotiated their contracts keeping this in mind. Just imagine how much money they could earn. But, who could have predicted this? With the MCU not existing until Iron Man, and superhero movies not known to become box-office successes, it’s highly unlikely anyone would have opted for a percentage cut instead of a few million up front.
But, enough about that, we’re all here to find out how much each actor earned for the part they played in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ Now, you need to understand that this is probably the biggest lead cast in the history of cinema (at least the biggest I can remember). So, it makes this sense that this is also among the most expensive movies ever made. Director Joe Russo has said that most of the presumed $300-400 million budget has gone towards paying the cast. Maybe all of it did with a separate budget for everything else? But, who gets how much? Let’s take a look:
Captain America – Chris Evans
He’s the leader of the Avengers. But, when it comes to earnings, he’s nowhere near the top. Chris Evans earned around $8 million (reportedly) for his appearance in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ While this is much more than what he earned for ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ which was a measly $150,000 (reportedly) it’s still nowhere near as much as what some of his co-stars earned.
Thor – Chris Hemsworth
Fresh off the success of ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ Chris makes another appearance just a few months later in this one. But, while some say he earned in excess of $31 million for his role in that movie, for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ he earned a modest $12 million. If only I could ever see the day when $12 million was a modest figure for me. : (
Black Panther – Chadwick Boseman
‘Black Panther’ was a box office success earning more than $1 billion. Unfortunately for Chadwick, since this was his first lead role as the Black Panther (‘Captain America: Civil War’ was not a lead role) he didn’t earn a huge paycheck. Some reports say he learned less than a million dollars for playing the King of Wakanda. Given the movie’s success, it’s obvious that he would have got a pay bump for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ but it doesn’t look like he would have got more than $2-3 million for his role.
The Hulk – Mark Ruffalo
The green giant is known for causing the most destruction among the Avengers and that may just be the reason he takes home such a small paycheck. Ruffalo as the Hulk doesn’t have a solo movie to his credit (yet), and as much as we hope that changes in the future, it’s highly unlikely. Mark has done a lot of the mo-cap work for the Hulk in these movies. But, the amount of money it takes to bring this Avenger to life on the big screen is unlike any other. While the Hulk may be the most expensive Avenger to put on-screen, Ruffalo doesn’t earn more than a few million for his part, $5-6 million to be precise.
Black Widow – Scarlett Johansson
She’s the highest earning female Avenger. Considering the kind of power the other female Avengers have (Scarlet Witch & Captain Marvel) it would take something special for Scarlett to stand out on the big screen. She does manage to hold her own even when on-screen with many big name superheroes though and that’s perhaps why she has earned a reported $20 million for ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ This would make her the second highest earning Avenger. Wonder what Hawkeye has to say about this…
Doctor Strange – Benedict Cumberbatch
While Benedict Cumberbatch may be perfect for the role of the Sorcerer Supreme it seems highly unlikely that he would have got paid a lot for his first role as Doctor Strange in the movie of the same name. Yes, he was a pretty big name even before they cast him but that’s not reason enough for Marvel to cough up the big bucks. His movie did do well though and that may just be reason enough for Marvel to loosen those purse strings for him this time around. Still, he’s reported to have earned around $5 million for playing the character in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ That’s not too much, is it?
Thanos – Josh Brolin
Thanos has made appearances in post-credit scenes since ‘Avengers’ and has also made an appearance in ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy.’ But, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is the Mad Titan’s first major role in the MCU and Josh Brolin absolutely nailed it. But, does that mean he would get paid a lot? Of course not. He got around $5-6 million and considering he has the most screen time among all the stars you could say he got the least per minute pay.
Loki – Tom Hiddleston
He was the most talked about villain in the MCU till Thanos stole that thunder from him in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ Still, he has earned quite a decent sum over the years and may just end up being the highest paid super villain in the MCU overall. He was, reportedly, paid around $8 million to play the God of Mischief in ‘Infinity War’ and considering how little screen time he has in the movie that makes him one of the highest paid in terms of per minute pay.
Star-Lord – Chris Pratt
Pratt was relatively unknown before ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1’ made him a household name. Yes, he did enjoy some success in ‘Parks & Recreation’ but it was nothing compared to the global stardom he enjoys now. Even ‘Jurassic World’ may have something to do with that but Guardians will always be where it began. Pratt is reported to have been paid $1.5 million for ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1’ and even though it’s been 4 years since that movie racked in millions at the box office, Pratt is rumoured to have earned around $5 million for his role in this one.
Rocket Raccoon – Bradley Cooper
There’s only one reason Bradley Cooper is on this list and that’s because he’s one of the two Guardians of the Galaxy who only have voice acting to do. Actually, that’s not the reason, the reason is because I want to point out the disparity between both of them. Cooper doesn’t earn more than a few million for each movie. Why is this relevant? Wait till we get to Vin Diesel/Groot.
Spider-Man – Tom Holland
He’s the youngest superhero who’s a part of the Avengers and also has a solo movie to his credit. After the success of Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker and the relative success of Andrew Garfield too, Holland had some seriously big shoes to fill. He made it work, though. Marvel has hit the nail on the head with most casting choices and this one is no different. While surrounded by so many big names, Spider-Man still manages to stand out. Tom Holland has many years of acting ahead of him and given that he’s started out with such a big franchise, the future is bright. He earned around $3 million for his role in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’
Iron Man – Robert Downey Jr.
The man we’ve all been waiting to read about. Let’s face it, most of you are only here to find out how much Robert earned. Again, while we don’t have any official numbers, rumours put his earnings for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ at $50 million. Talk about disparity. Actually, considering the entire MCU would not have taken off without ‘Iron Man’ it’s only fair that Downey gets a huge number for every movie. He is supposed to be the highest paid actor in the MCU. There’s only one other man who can compete. The name will shock you…
Groot – Vin Diesel
Yup, big Vin is reported to have been paid $54 million for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.’ That’s an astounding figure when you think about it. He doesn’t even do the mo-cap for Groot. It’s just his voice that warrants that amount. Sit back and let that sink in for a minute. The only thing we can say in Marvel’s defence is that he was already a pretty successful Hollywood actor before they signed him. While most others tasted success only after their roles in the MCU, Diesel already has ‘xXx’ and the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchises to support him not to mention a number of other box-office successes. Could Marvel have signed someone else to voice Groot at a much lower price? Of course, but then he wouldn’t be Vin. Would he?
(As much as I tried to get confirmed numbers, Disney doesn’t reveal anything in terms of how much their actors are paid. So, must of the numbers here are based on rumours and confirmations from unidentified sources.)
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