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Robert Downey Jr. led the charge regarding cashing in on saving the world. His Iron Man paycheck was in a league of its own, but right behind him? Scarlett Johansson, a.k.a. Black Widow, also raked in some serious coin. As the MCU’s first major female superhero, she proved she wasn’t just “one of the guys” in the lineup but a top earner in the Avengers crew, going from a million-dollar gig to landing a huge payout for Age of Ultron.
Johansson’s MCU climb started back in Iron Man 2 (2010) with a $400,000 paycheck—not too shabby for a debut, but barely a hint of what was coming. By The Avengers in 2012, she’d jumped to a clean million. But by Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015? She was raking in a cool $20 million. At that point, she wasn’t just keeping pace with Iron Man and Cap—she was out-earning a few of them.
With Infinity War and Endgame, the MCU had officially entered “record-breaking blockbuster” territory, and so had Johansson’s pay. She banked $15 million for each movie, raking in around $35 million total once bonuses kicked in for Endgame. And if that wasn’t enough, her solo film Black Widow brought her another $20 million upfront. That’s not bad for a character who, back in the day, was initially just a backup for the guys.
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