Last week, we discussed the issue with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman pay. Elle Magazine and other outlets did some digging, and they determined that Gadot likely only made $300,000 for Wonder Woman and that Henry Cavill probably made something like $13 million for Man of Steel. That was probably the most salacious headline about a salary, especially given the gonzo box office receipts, and the glowing critical reception for WW. Upon closer inspection however, it seems like Gal Gadot and Cavill probably got paid similarly, all things considered: a baseline salary of $300,00 upfront, with a backend deal and bonus structure dependent on how much the film makes. Gadot could end up making millions if she has a good backend.
This whole conversation went on online without Gal Gadot uttering one word about it publicly. People were pissed off on her behalf, and everyone was ready to use the salary discrepancy as a cautionary tale of Why Studios Are Sexist and Why We Need Pay Equity. Well, TMZ caught up with Gadot in Beverly Hills on Tuesday and she basically just shrugged it away:
She tells TMZ that she’s “grateful and happy” about her salary and jokes with the cameraman (who is annoying) that she needs to hire him to renegotiate her contract for the WW sequel. Part of me is bothered that Gal has to come out and say this, that she’s “grateful and happy” to have the work, to be a part of the movie, to be paid so modestly. She’s between a rock and a hard place though – if she bitched about it publicly, she would be seen as “ungrateful” and – because she’s a woman – “mouthy.” But you never know – the fact that her pay became such a huge story might end up helping her out when she is negotiating her contract for the sequel. She can flat-out say to the Warner Bros. that she wants to be paid exactly the same as Henry Cavill, if not more (because WW performed better than Man of Steel).
Something else: Gal is one of the new inductees to the Academy this year. The new class of 2017 includes Gal, Donald Glover, Debbie Allen, Riz Ahmed, Priyanka Chopra, John Cho, Rebel Wilson, Kristen Stewart, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ruth Negga, Zoë Kravitz, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth. Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs had stressed the importance of increasingly the diversity/inclusion within the Academy, and she wants more women and more people of color as voting members of the Academy.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Don’t understand Zoe Kravitz induction but I guess. #godiversity :/
MTE.
If memory serves, Zoe has spoken out about lack of diversity. Induction helps stop the critical talk, or that’s what they’re hoping maybe.
The only one who stuck out for me was Betty White. Because I thought she would have been in there.
Other than that I dont really think anyone else on that list really deserved it.
What did Chris Evans or Leslie Jones actually do to get a place in there? Rebel Wilson? The lesser Harry Potter boys? Some of them are white men so it can’t be only diversity.
Oh my new girl crush will most likely be paid nicely for the sequel with the backend deals. I’m sure her team is already on it.
Maybe she’s grateful and happy because she has a really good backend deal and bonus? Probably not, but I’m trying to be more optimistic. 🙂
Well, she’s from Israel. Maybe they don’t get pay as much. So for her getting that kind of money is a lot. If I was getting that kind of money for only some months of work, I’ll be really happy… Lol
yeah, for acting probably but she is already rich. They owned a hotel and sold, they are already millionaires…
She is born in Israel but has been in the US for a while. They won’t pay her based on where is was from?
This isn’t Gal’s first film.
How the fuck people believed Caville was paid 13 million in the first place?? It does not make sense. The sad thing is pay gap is an important conversation to have but bloggers and twitter activists willfully play stupid( I do not believe they actually believed Caville was paid that much) to get more clicks. No need to Elizabeth Banks the issue.
Superhero movies get their stars cheap and the stars renegotiate if they get bigger and the movies become successful. I don’t know Gadot’s contracts but Patty Jenkins was only contracted for one movie so she should definitely renegotiate.
I read an article yesterday comparing her salary to chris helmsworth and chris evans for their first thoe and captain america movies and it was comparable. Remember no one had heard of her when she got the role and she was not a popular choice.
This isn’t Gal’s first film. Some people actually had heard of Gal and watched her in films before Wonder Woman.
But it was her first headlining role.
She got 300k, without the bonuses, merchandise, sequel… as a relatively unknown actress, I’d be happy and grateful too.
@Ayra, I totally agree.
$300, 000? I’d be walking on cloud nine.
She’s great, love Wonder Woman
I don’t think it’s unusual for a lesser known actor/actress to get a small starting salary for a franchise like this. As others have said, back end deals and sequels will be where they all make their money, and hopefully hers is equivalent to Cavill and the other superhero guys.
I remember Jennifer Lawrence having a similar deal for the Hunger Games movies.
She handled this well as can be expected. I agree with Kaiser. Appreciate the follow up on this and the write up.
“Relatively paltry” compared to what? It’s been established that her pay was comparable to other actors in their first superhero role. Why are you still trying to make this false narrative true?
Her reaction is appropriate. She was a relative unknown C-list actress and this is the biggest boost of her career into worldwide stardom. She will without a doubt get a pay increase across the board on all of her future films. Her husband is loaded and they are already millionaires. She doesn’t need the money and is probably grateful that she is now a household name because of WW. That is not to say she doesn’t deserve more money. She absolutely does. I am just glad to see that she is being humble and modest about her recent success rather than going the route of Katherine Heigl or other ungrateful actors who demand millions of dollars and special treatment before they even are solidly A-list. Gal is smart and she knows that she will soon get the millions she deserves without the unnecessary drama.
Why is this even a story? It’s been established that Gal has the same contract as Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth/Evans. It also makes Gal look stupid when it’s claimed that she’s “happy and grateful” to make $300,000 when in reality she may end up making 50X that. This is not an unequal pay situation so it’s not doing anybody any favors by holding Gal up as a cause/victim.