Robert Downey Jr. has been with Marvel since 2008 — the year he first played the role of Iron Man in the movie of the same name. Since then, Downey has appeared in nine more films under the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). But with reports of his contract expiring and his onscreen partner Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) dropping out of the franchise, it’s likely like Avengers: Endgame is going to be Downey’s last movie in the MCU. Whether or not fans are going to see Downey’s Tony Stark in future Marvel films, one thing’s for sure: the actor has made an insane sum of money from his 11-year stint as a superhero.
Media reports revealed that Downey earned $500,000 for his first Marvel movie, Iron Man. But because stars usually make deals with the top brass to get a certain percentage of a film’s profits, it is estimated that Downey’s full payout for the movie was near $2 million.
Given the commercial success of Iron Man, Downey reportedly got a pay raise for the 2010 film Iron Man 2. It was speculated that the 54-year-old New York native made $10 million for the sequel. But after adding the potential 2.5 percent from the movie’s profits, his total paycheck for the flick is believed to have amounted to $13 million.
After Iron Man 2, Downey reportedly had a $10 million base pay for each of the following movies: The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). But after adding the potential 2.5 percent from each of the film’s profits, his estimated earnings racked up to $39 million, $32 million, and $35 million respectively.
Though 2016’s Captain America Civil War wasn’t originally part of Downey’s contract, it was actually the Marvel movie that gave him the biggest paycheck. Downey originally had a smaller part in the film, but after some major rewrites, he ended up playing a crucial role in the movie, which reportedly gave him a hefty $40 million salary. After adding in the 2.5 percent from the movie’s profits, that amount went up to $63.75 million.
The Oscar-nominated actor reportedly earned an estimated $15 million for his appearance in Spiderman: Homecoming (2017) and approximately $20.25 million for Avengers: Infinity War (2018). While this year’s Avengers: Endgame continues to break records at the box office, it is expected that Downey will also make about $20.25 million for it.
If all these salary estimates are accurate, then Downey has received more than $200 million from Marvel. And since he’s the one who basically started the MCU, Downey is probably the highest-earning actor in the whole franchise.