Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are two pretty popular names in the film industry. Having done some of the most successful movies in the last two decades, both actors have an amazing folio to their credit. And of course, playing two of the most beloved superheroes from Marvel Comics has only added to their storied career.
When Hugh Jackman first joined the world of superheroes, he was a relatively unknown face. X-Men (2000) was his debut movie, which catapulted him to over night success. Ryan Reynolds on the other hand had been part of some pretty successful projects by the Deadpool (2016) graced our screens. Though, to be fair, he had already played Deadpool, or at least a version of him, before, in one of the X-Men movies – X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).
How Much Did Ryan Reynolds Earn For Playing Deadpool?
Ryan Reynolds would not have the means to play Deadpool, if a test footage of him playing the character was not “leaked.” The footage became viral, with fans clamoring to Fox for a full length movie, which the studio was pretty reluctant to make up until that point. And even after greenlighting the project, the actor’s contract had a measly payday of just $2 million.
Fortunately, the actor had a clause for him to receive backend points from whatever business the movie would do. Which, to the great surprise of Fox execs, turned out to be huge, as Deadpool (2016) made around $781.9 million on a $58 million budget. Reynolds ended up receiving close to $20 million for the first movie.
For Deadpool 2 (2018), the actor was offered a $20 million contract, and in addition backend pointa from the movie’s total gross, which turned out to be $786.3 million. The actor received around $30-40 million in total from the second movie. So in total, Ryan Reynolds has earned around $50-60 million from his two movies playing the Merc with the Mouth.
How Much Has Hugh Jackman Made Playing Wolverine?
Being an unknown actor at the time of being cast as Logan/Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men movie, Hugh Jackman only earned a measly paycheck of $500,000. Slowly, he started earning more, with the actor receiving $1 million for X2: X-Men United (2003) and $5 million for X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). And for X-Men: Days of The Future Past (2014), he got a $7 million paycheck. These were all ensemble movies, so the payday was comparatively less.
But for his standalone movie later in time, Jackman was paid $20 million each for X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013). And for Logan (2017), which was supposed to be his last movie in the superhero genre until Deadpool & Wolverine came along, the actor earned close to $46.5 million, including backend points. So far, Hugh Jackman has earned close to $100 million for playing the clawed mutant.
With Deadpool & Wolverine set to release later this summer, we can only guess how much both actors will end up earning – directly as well as through backend points. Marvel Studios recently released the first trailer of the movie, after having released a teaser during Super Bowl earlier this year.
Deadpool & Wolverine, in theaters on July 26.
