James Gunn's 2025 Superman movie reportedly does not have any one actor making a huge sum of money in their salary. Comic book movies are often known for spending big on some of the biggest names in the entertainment world, with actors like Marvel's Robert Downey Jr. making 10s of millions of dollars for their work in the 21st century. However, as DC Studios looks to kick off a brand-new cinematic universe, this trend did not seem to apply.
Insider Matt Belloni shared new information on the salaries of the 2025 Superman movie's cast in his Puck newsletter. He pointed out DC Studios co-CEO and Superman director James Gunn's knack for "finding people who become huge stars," as Gunn previously told CNN. He also admitted that he had "a bit of an ego" about the casting process.
According to the newsletter, Superman's biggest salary went to Nicholas Hoult for his work as Lex Luthor. This makes sense considering Hoult's long resume of major franchises, including playing Beast in 20th Century Fox's X-Men movies, along with recent roles in hits like Renfield and Nosferatu. Elsewhere, David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan (Clark Kent and Lois Lane) earned $750,000 each for their roles. All three are reportedly in line for bonuses, depending on how well Superman performs at the box office.
This comes as a major change of pace from Zack Snyder's Man of Steel in 2013, in which lead actor Henry Cavill was the only star to qualify as a relative newcomer. The cast featured stars with 12 combined Oscar nominations between Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, and Russell Crowe, giving that supporting group a much higher floor for salaries.
Kicking off James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe, Superman is the pair's first theatrical release for DC Studios as the co-CEOs. Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult, Clark Kent is featured in his early years, establishing himself as a reporter and a hero while also taking on the challenge of facing his most formidable adversaries to date. Superman is playing in theaters worldwide.
How Superman Cast Salaries Compare To Other Superhero Stars
When compared to a few other recent superhero movie stars, the aforementioned salaries do line up fairly evenly.
According to Acting Magazine, Florence Pugh was paid between $500,000 and $700,000 for her core supporting role as Yelena Belova in 2021's Black Widow. Also from the Marvel side of things, then-21-year-old Tom Holland came into his first solo film, 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming (per Just Jared), earning about $500,000 before becoming a megastar. Looking back even further to 2011, then-unknown Chris Hemsworth started his own Marvel run with only a $150,000 paycheck for the first Thor movie (Parade).
Given the years that have passed, $750,000 checks for rising stars like Corenswet and Brosnahan would not seemingly lead to fans feeling the two were underpaid, nor would the $2 million Hoult earned. Although reports have predicted that Superman needs close to a $700 million box office haul to be successful, the three leads and the rest of the cast could be in for big paydays if that happens.
According to Deadline, Superman's Thursday night previews totaled over $21 million, marking the best preview total for any movie Gunn has ever directed. That number also marks the best of its kind for any 2025 movie. Early projections from May predicted that Superman could have an opening weekend as high as $175 million, challenging 2016's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice for the biggest opening weekend in DC movie history. Those numbers would rival MCU hits like 2013's Iron Man 3 ($174.1 million) and 2016's Captain America: Civil War ($179.1 million), both of which broke the $1 billion barrier overall at the box office.
Assuming Superman's opening weekend pulls in the numbers many are currently predicting, its leading cast is sure to be in for massive paydays on the backend. And with talks about a potential sequel already coming up for DC Studios, these stars may be on their way to becoming some of the biggest earners in Hollywood.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
