Marvel and DC are the two biggest players in the superhero movie game, and each studio has made some bangers over the last decade. While DC has done well, Marvel has truly taken the game to another level, with the MCU being the new face of the movie industry. With perfectly cast characters and amazing stories, the MCU has shown no signs of slowing down.
During the first three phases of the MCU, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson were instrumental in taking the franchise to another level, and they will forever be original member of the Avengers. While both made plenty of cash, Scarlett was actually earning more than Chris for the first Avengers film.
So, what was the gap in pay like for the two performers? Let’s take a closer look and see how things played out for the two of them!
Scarlett Doubles Up On Evans For The Avengers
Back when the Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally bringing its biggest heroes together for The Avengers, it was time for the studio to start shelling out some serious dough for its biggest stars. It was during this time that Johansson doubled the pay of Chris Evans.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Evans was paid between $2 and $3 million for the first Avengers film, and Scarlett Johansson is reported to have made at least twice as much as he did. This is pretty interesting when taking into consideration that Chris Evans had already assumed the lead in his own Marvel film and Scarlett Johansson’s character had been little more than a secondary piece in the MCU at that point.
Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration when looking at The Hollywood Reporter’s report is that there were bonuses involved with all performers, meaning that their base pay could have been a lot lower and that incentives is what ultimately led them to their massive paydays.
Clearly, Scarlett Johansson’s agent did an exceptional job of going to bat for her during negotiations because she was making a considerable amount of money right from the jump. As we will see, things would eventually even up over time as Chris Evans became a much bigger star.
Things Even Up For Age Of Ultron
After some more films entered the fray in the MCU, it was once again time to bring together Earths Mightiest Heroes to take down a massive force. The result of this was the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the pay gap between Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans would become a thing of the past.
According to Business Insider, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson would get pay bumps and begin making $15 million per flick. Thanks to the gargantuan success of the first Avengers film, the actors were able to command a much higher salary and take things to a new level for their net worth.
One of the primary differences this time when compared to the first Avengers film was that Chris Evans had become a massive star thanks to the monumental success of the Captain America films and his character's growth in popularity. Because of this and because of Scarlett Johansson’s lack of solo movies, it would make a little sense for her to continue making more money than him.
As we would see, Avengers: Age of Ultron was a massive hit at the box office, and all performers involved were handsomely compensated. This was a trend that would continue for the next two Avengers films.
They Stay Equal For Infinity War And Endgame
Now that the gap in pay was equal between Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans, it was time to keep things on a nice, even keel for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
These two films were going to put a nice bow on the Infinity Saga for the MCU, and they both would go on to be a monumental success at the box office, with each generating over $2 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
It seems like both characters will have a minimal part to play in the MCU moving forward, given what happened during the events of Avengers: Endgame, although we do know that Scarlett Johansson is getting her on Black Widow film, which is set release later this year.
By the time it’s all said and done, both performers will have made an incredible amount of money from their time in the MCU, so it is interesting to see that Scarlett was out-earning Chris during their initial foray into the franchise.
The MCU took Chris and Scarlett’s careers to a completely different level during the 2010s, and each performer will have fond memories of making millions while changing the movie business for good.
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