As one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s longest-tenured characters and a founding member of the Avengers, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is regarded as one of the linchpins of the comic book franchise. Including her cameo in the post-credits scene of Captain Marvel, the actress has made eight appearances in the MCU to date, with six of those movies earning over a billion dollars at the box office.
Despite being a heavily-featured supporting player among a roster of gods and superheroes, it took almost a decade for Natasha Romanoff to get her own solo adventure, and somewhat ironically it turned out to be a prequel after she was killed off during the events of Avengers: Endgame. Black Widow takes place following Captain America: Civil War, and for finally getting the chance to headline a standalone MCU adventure, Johansson is being handsomely rewarded for her efforts.
The record-breaking success of Endgame saw the 34 year-old recently named the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, raking in a massive $56m over the last twelve months. And it looks like remaining under the Marvel Studios banner will continue to bring huge financial rewards for Johansson, as she revealed that her contract for Black Widow places her among the MCU’s biggest earners.
“Money is a taboo topic of conversation. But I will say that, yes, I’m on an equal playing field with my male cohorts.”
With a base salary reported to be $15m, the star of Lucy and The Jungle Book looks set to be rolling in cash for the forseeable future. Not only that, but Johansson’s contract contains a back-end deal similar to that of former co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, meaning she’ll also earn a percentage of Black Widow’s profits to take that number even higher.
While she may have failed to match the $76.4m earned by Hemsworth, the MCU’s highest-paid star, or Downey Jr.’s $66m, Johansson comfortably took home more than Chris Evans’ $43m and Paul Rudd’s $41m, and with three of those names either gone from the franchise entirely or yet to have another solo movie announced, Black Widow will see her comfortably become the biggest earner in the entire MCU.