Everyday sexism is rife in the decidedly non-everyday world of superheroes, it seems.
While Henry Cavill pocketed a super $14 million for playing DC’s most powerful hero in Man Of Steel, Israeli-born actress Gal Gadot is on a comparatively meagre $300,000 for each of her three DC superhero movies (Batman vs Superman, Wonder Woman and Justice League.)
Closer analysis of the facts reveals that Gadot’s pay cheque, while somewhat inequitable, isn’t entirely unprecedented. Chris Evans, for example, earned a very similar sum for his appearance in Captain America, the First Avenger.
Nevertheless, the fact that Wonder Woman has outperformed its stablemates Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman and Suicide Squad commercially as well as critically will lend the next meeting between Gadot and her Justice League co-stars Cavill and Ben Affleck a certain amount of frisson.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice garnered a total domestic total gross of $330,360,194 against a $250 million budget while Wonder Woman, still on release, has already collected $275,095,580 to balance a production budget of ‘only’ $149 million.