Gal Gadot's $300,000 'Wonder Woman' paycheck has nothing to do with the gender wage gap
It seems the wage gap between "Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot and Superman Henry Cavill has been greatly exaggerated.
On Tuesday, Twitter went into a frenzy after a tweet claimed that Cavill had been paid $14 million for his role in "Man of Steel," a whopping 46 times more than Gadot's $300,000 paycheck for starring in "Wonder Woman."
"The most compelling DC villain is the pay gap," the since-deleted tweet read.
However, that's not exactly what happened.
Yes, Gadot received $300,000 for her role in Hollywood's latest blockbuster, but that figure doesn't include box office performance bonuses.
You see, salaries in Hollywood contracts aren't exactly set in stone when an actor first signs on for a film. Production companies hedge their bets when adding untested stars to burgeoning franchises, offering up a base salary with opportunities for bumps in pay based on ticket sales and sequels.
Variety reported back in 2014, that Gadot signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) for which she would be given a base salary of $300,000 per film.
Warner Bros. declined to comment and Gadot's agent did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Cavill's reported $14 million paycheck for his work on "Man of Steel" is likely the result of the film's box office success. The film garnered more than $668 million globally and set the scene for "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice," and "Justice League."
CNBC was unable to confirm Cavill's initial salary for "Man of Steel."
Gadot isn't the first actor to receive a modest sum for an origins movie. Chris Evans, who portrays Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reportedly earned $300,000 for his role in "Captain America: The First Avenger" before scoring $2 million for his work in "Avengers."
Similarly, the star of "Thor," Chris Hemsworth, reportedly earned $200,000 for his first foray as the God of Thunder and mega-star Robert Downey Jr. grabbed $500,000 for his role in "Iron Man."
Downey would go on to score an estimated $50 million to reprise the role in "Avengers" after successfully launching Marvel Cinematic Universe with his portrayal of Tony Stark in the first two "Iron Man" films. Marvel is a unit of Disney (NYSE: DIS).
So far, "Wonder Woman" has garnered more than $573 million at the global box office. So, it's very likely that Gadot could be headed toward a much larger payday. Especially, considering director Patty Jenkins is already working on a Wonder Woman sequel, a film that is not currently part of Gadot's initial three-picture deal.
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