Barring any pandemic-mandated delays, 2022 is sizing up to be a monumental year at the box office.
Aside from bonafide blockbusters like Jurassic World: Dominion and John Wick Chapter 4, both Disney and Warner Bros. are set to debut a multitude of major motion pictures starring some of their most popular IPs.
DC will introduce fans to Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam while Ezra Miller's Flash will finally get his solo spotlight. Marvel will bring Doctor Strange 2 while also delivering follow-ups for Captain Marvel and Black Panther. All the aforementioned flicks have high anticipation, but each franchise has one that stands out amongst the rest.
For Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder represents the first time a character is getting a fourth solo film. Chris Hemsworth's ninth appearance as the God of Thunder reunites him with director Taika Waititi while also bringing in acclaimed actor Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher.
Speaking of Bale, DC is bringing its first solo Batman film to the big screen since the aforementioned actor's The Dark Knight Rises. Robert Pattinson's The Batman will give fans their third live-action Caped Crusader in the past decade, but The Lighthouse star's iteration will place Bruce Wayne in his earliest years as Gotham's vigilante.
While both Hemsworth and Pattinson are leading the charge for their franchise's 2022 blockbusters, their salaries are quite distant.
BIG EARNINGS FOR THOR AND BATMAN
Asgard may be destroyed, but Thor is still a wealthy man.
According to Variety, Chris Hemsworth will earn $20 million for Thor: Love and Thunder, a $5 million raise from his Thor: Ragnarok salary. $20 million has been an industry standard for A-Listers for almost three decades. Fellow top talent Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt will take in the same dollar amount as Hemsworth for their 2022 films, The Lost City of D and Bullet Train, respectively.
On the DC side, Robert Pattinson will rake in $3 million for The Batman. By comparison, former Batman Christian Bale made $10 million for his first run as Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins.
THOR IS RICHER THAN BRUCE WAYNE
It's quite the accomplishment for a man who's technically homeless at the moment.
In all seriousness, Hemsworth's earnings being $17 million more than Pattinson's is expected. This is the Aussie actor's ninth appearance as the God of Thunder, and he has proven to be a bigger box office draw with every subsequent film. As talented as Pattinson is, it's currently unknown how much audiences will gravitate toward him as a superhero.
The real comparison here is between the two actors' first salaries as their respective characters. Pattinson's $3 million is a whopping 20 times what Hemsworth raked in for 2011's Thor, which earned the actor $150,000. Pattinson's salary is three times higher than Chris Evans' first go-around as Steve Rogers, as the former Star-Spangled Man earned $1 million for Captain America: The First Avenger before garnering $15 million per film since Captain America: Civil War.
If The Batman crushes at the box office, Pattinson will be cashing Hemsworth-level checks come the sequel. For now, the latest take on Bruce Wayne needs to prove itself before it can match up with the multi-billion dollar Thor franchise.
The Batman hits theaters on March 4, 2022 while Thor: Love and Thunder debuts just two months later on May 6, 2022.
MCU Writer, Editor, Podcaster
