After Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for its hybrid release of Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, movie buffs have got a renewed interest in the compensation of high-profile Hollywood actors. Though some movie stars have started to earn much more after leaving the big screen for streaming services, there are some actors who are still taking on the “industry standard” paycheck, and one of those is Chris Hemsworth.
According to a new report by Variety, Hemsworth scored a $20 million payday for the upcoming Marvel movie Thor: Love and Thunder. Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt, and Ryan Gosling also brought home the same amount of money for their films The Lost City of D, Bullet Train, and The Grey Man, respectively.
Variety pointed out that the $20 million-per-movie salary has been the industry standard for top talent since Jim Carrey earned that sum for his dark comedy movie The Cable Guy back in 1996. Five years ago, a $20 million-per-picture paycheck would still be on the top of the heap. But now, that amount of compensation is already dwarfed by the riches offered by Netflix, Amazon and other streamers.
For instance, Daniel Craig is receiving over $100 million for starring in two sequels of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out. Dwayne Johnson, meanwhile, got a $30 million upfront pay after Amazon Studios acquired his holiday movie Red One. That paycheck could even balloon to $50 million when the actor’s backend is finalized.
While Hemsworth’s Thor: Love and Thunder salary isn’t as high as the paychecks of Craig and Johnson for their upcoming movies, previous reports noted that the Australian actor was only paid $150,000 for 2011’s Thor, so his Thor: Love and Thunder payday is a major raise. That’s not even taking into account a potential backend bump if the MCU film becomes a box-office success.
In an interview with GQ Australia last March, Hemsworth talked about the pressure of getting the latest Thor sequel right. “There’s that same — if not more — pressure now to do that again,” Hemsworth said about the follow-up to the 2017 movie Thor: Ragnarok. “So there’s a little bit of exciting nervous energy that is motivating all of us to reach a little further and make sure we’re covering all bases and approaching the scene from every angle.”
Fortunately, it seems that Thor: Love and Thunder is more of an ensemble movie, so Hemsworth is not the only one who’s doing the heavy lifting. Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster, this time taking on the mantle of The Mighty Thor and seemingly working hand in hand with Hemsworth’s titular hero.
Christian Bale also makes her MCU debut in the movie as the villain Gorr the God-Butcher. Tessa Thompson is also back in her role of Valkyrie, with Guardians of the Galaxy stars Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, and Karen Gillan also appearing in the sequel.
Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on May 6th, 2022.