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Stand Down, Internet: Wonder Woman Didn't Make 46 Times Less Than Superman
(Photo by Victor Chavez/Getty Images)
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Back in 2014, then up-and-coming Israeli actress Gal Gadot signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros. for $300,000 per film. So, now that Wonder Woman has officially become the sixth highest-grossing film of 2017, it stands to reason that Gadot's contract might be up for renegotiation.
This week, accusations surfaced that Warner Bros. wasn't paying Gal Gadot as much as her male superhero-movie counterparts. Unsurprisingly, the Internet ran away with the story, which had all the makings of a viral sensation —superheroes, outrage, Hollywood gossip, and that intoxicating signature blend of feminism and capitalism. Elle launched the furor with a Monday article titled "Superman Got Paid More Than Wonder Woman," reporting that actor Henry Cavill earned $14 million for his turn as Superman in 2013's Man of Steel, meaning that Gadot earned nearly a whopping 47 times less.
Business Insider called Gadot's $300,000-per-film salary "shockingly low," and TMZ summarized the issue in its admirably succinct fashion: "Warner Bros, Look Out: SHE WANTS WAY MORE THAN $300K." Seriously, watch your back, Hollywood studios; hell hath no fury like an actress who would maybe, at some point, like to be paid a salary that is commensurate with her male counterparts, if it isn't too much trouble.
Vanity Fair set the record straight on Tuesday, reporting that the pay statistic quoted in Elle was misleading, as Cavill’s $14 million earnings include bonuses for box office performance, while Gadot’s $300,000 is just the base salary for each film she’s made thus far in the DC Universe. Gadot's salary was on par with the $300,000 in base pay that Chris Evans earned for his debut superhero role in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger.
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Back in 2014 when Gadot signed her contract with Warner Bros., the studio limited her deal to three pictures because they still didn't know how a cameo from Wonder Woman would go over in the 2016 film Batman v. Superman, Variety reports. Since Gadot's performance as Wonder Woman has officially broken the Internet, becoming the most Tweeted-about film of 2017, she will likely be up for the same bonuses and sequel opportunities that Cavill and other stars of high-grossing superhero films have earned. For what it's worth, individuals with knowledge of the negotiations have also denied the $14 million figure to both The Wrap and Vanity Fair (though no one has stated on the record how much, exactly, Cavill did earn).
While it's reassuring to hear that Wonder Women have finally achieved pay equity with Wonder Men, let's not forget that out here in the non-DC Comics universe, the racial wage gap for women has barely changed in 35 years, with black women earning 65 cents and Hispanic women earning 58 cents to every white man's dollar. Happy Tuesday!
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