The DC Comics film Wonder Woman was an instant smash hit—it grossed over $103 million its opening weekend and has already surpassed $573 million worldwide. In fact, the movie is such a hit that it is well on its way to becoming one of the top 10 grossing superhero films of all time. This news is great in terms of showing strong female characters on the screen—with a female director, no less.
It’s a different story behind the scenes for Wonder Woman, however. The actress portraying star of the film, Gal Gadot, only got paid $300,000 for her performance in the movie according to Variety. When she signed her deal, the contract was $300,000 for each of three movies: Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Justice League.
Now most of us would find a $300,000 salary to be more than enough, but we’ re not looking at this in absolute numbers. Just check out how low Gadot’s pay is in compared to other male actors in superhero roles. Elle Australia offers this for comparison:
And although Gadot is a major character, if not the main character, in all the three of the films, her paycheck is painfully lower than her male co-stars’. For comparison, Henry Cavill, who plays Superman, earned $18.4 million for his debut in Superman: Man of Steel; while Ben Affleck, who plays Batman, will earn $26.3 million for his solo movie, The Batman.
Goes to show that the wage gap isn’t limited to lower-paying jobs; discrimination exists in all echelons of society.