Does Avengers: Endgame have the most star-studded line-up in Hollywood history? It’s certainly got an arguable claim to the title: after all, how many films can boast having icons like Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas in walk-on parts? With all that talent, the total amount budgeted for casting must have been mind-blowing and while we may never know the full amount, thanks to a report from THR, we at least have a rough idea of what some of the long-time MCU stars went home with.
Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth all negotiated salaries for the film in the $15-20 million range and despite the climactic events of Endgame, Johansson is set to reprise her role in 2020’s standalone Black Widow and will pick up another starring and producing payday for it. We’re also likely to be seeing Chris Hemsworth in the MCU for a while yet, as he’s renegotiated a multi-film contract that should see him cropping up throughout Phase 4. But it’s Robert Downey Jr. who’s really set to make some serious bank out of Endgame.
The actor’s apparently worked out a unique financial arrangement with Kevin Feige that sees him take a backend percentage of all the Avengers movies’ profits. This means he’s been making money out of the runaway success of every mainline Avengers film since the first 2012 team-up, which translates into some truly eye-popping paydays.
THR reports that ‘multiple knowledgable sources’ say that Downey Jr. made $75 million from the success of Infinity War. Given that Endgame looks set to surpass even that film, he’s expected to earn somewhere in the region of $100 million for his performance.
That’s a truly ridiculous amount of money to make for a role in a movie. However, from Marvel Studios’ point of view, the entire MCU project may never have gotten off the ground without Downey Jr. laying the foundations in Iron Man. Plus, given the universal praise for his performance in Avengers: Endgame, he’s a huge part of why it’s crushing it at the box office. Still, whether that’s worth $100 million or not is definitely up for debate.