It’s no secret that Wonder Woman has been a huge success so far — the movie received a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, made $100.5 million opening weekend and is the first major superhero movie to be directed by a woman.
Not everything relating to the movie is stellar, though — for one, Gal Gidot’s paycheck. Variety reported that Gidot (AKA Wonder Woman herself) only made $300,000 off of the movie, and will make the same amount for the next two Justice League movies she stars in.
OK, so $300,000 is a lot — at least, it is for the average American. But for an actor starring in a hit superhero movie, it sounds a little less than impressive. According to some reports that have been floating around online, Henry Cavill (AKA Superman) was paid $14 million for his role in Man of Steel, which received lukewarm reviews from critics and fans alike.
Let’s just say that people aren’t exactly happy to hear how little Gal Gidot received for her amazing performance as Princess Diana.
https://twitter.com/rmdbutler/status/877118615597846528
https://twitter.com/kirakosarin/status/877190300225093632
However, the Gidot vs. Cavill paycheck comparison may not be the whole story. According to Vanity Fair, it’s likely that Cavill’s $14 million wasn’t just for a single Superman movie. And if you look at base salaries for other superhero actors, $300,000 isn’t actually lower than average for a first film — while the Avengers actors are raking in the cash now, many of them began with $100,000-$500,000 paychecks.
It also VERY explicitly points out it includes “box office gross” (aka backend percentage), and thus is not a salary. But ¯_(ツ)_/¯. https://t.co/Fe0HO0Mk74
— Myles McNutt (@Memles) June 20, 2017
Is it disheartening to hear that Gidot, who completely rocked the role of Wonder Woman, is making so little for a film that made so much? Sure, but it’s not unheard of. With the success of this film, it’s likely that she’ll be making a whole lot more once Wonder Woman 2 comes around (because let’s be real, it’s going to happen). 
