The Highest Paid Actors In The DCEU

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) started off with a bang in 2013 when Henry Cavill donned Superman's signature cape in "Man of Steel." From there, the franchise has welcomed many familiar heroes to the big screen, including Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Harley Quinn. While the DCEU has faced a rocky road — no one is likely to forget the abysmal reviews for "Suicide Squad" any time soon — it's still been a rousing success. The massive fictional franchise has already raked in more than $6 billion worldwide, with many more paydays to come.

What's the secret to this success? Talent. The biggest DCEU projects have all been led by spectacular performances from some of today's brightest stars. "Wonder Woman," for example, would be nothing without Gal Gadot's irresistible charisma. Zachary Levi and Asher Angel's winning turns transformed Shazam from a C-list hero into a household name. Margot Robbie is so dazzling as the madcap Harley Quinn, she's managed to outshine the Joker. Naturally, these famous faces are paid big bucks for their work — especially after they get one or two solid successes under their belts. What sort of dough are we talking about here, exactly? We've got all the answers. These are the highest paid actors in the DCEU.

Amber Heard plays fierce Princess Mera of Xebel in 2018's "Aquaman." According to Newsweek, she took home $2 million for her efforts. Heard was set to reprise the character in the film's 2023 sequel, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," but has since been given a reduced role in the film. This is due to the storm of controversy created by her ex-husband Johnny Depp's highly publicized defamation trial against her in 2022. "They released me from my contract," Heard remarked on the stand (per Newsweek). "And I fought to stay in it, and they kept me in it. I just don't know how much I'm in, actually, of the final cut." The script she was eventually given contained what she described as a dramatically reduced role for Mera.

According to entertainment expert Kathryn Arnold, this meant Heard's salary stayed the same for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom." The actor should have been looking at a $4 million raise for her sophomore trip to Atlantis — Jason Momoa, for example, was able to bump his salary up from $3 million to $15 million.

"Suicide Squad" is the third installment of the DCEU. The 2016 film welcomes a large ensemble cast to the screen, with the likes of Will Smith and Margot Robbie taking center stage as the titular antiheroes. Jared Leto also has an important part to play in the movie as the infamous Joker. His devotion to immersing himself in the eccentric character was highly publicized: As Viola Davis recalled to Vanity Fair, he went so far as to send his castmates a dead pig.

News 24 reported that Leto was paid $7 million for all his hard work. However, according to the actor, most of his scenes ended up getting cut from the film. All he had to show for his impressive salary was less than eight minutes of screen time. This works out to just under $1,000,000 per minute. No one could complain about such a sum, but Leto's shock at his absence from the film is still understandable.

While Robbie has reprised her role as Harley Quinn in "Birds of Prey" and "The Suicide Squad," Leto's character is nowhere to be found in either flick. As director James Gunn told The New York Times, that's because having the Joker in the Suicide Squad just doesn't make sense. But as Leto told Variety, he remains open to returning to the role. If that happens, the actor and musician will undoubtedly add more millions to his bank account.

Gal Gadot's biggest role before playing Wonder Woman was Gisele from the "Fast & Furious" movie franchise. Suffice it to say, she was far from a household name when she joined the DCEU — but that more or less changed overnight. After she took on the role of Amazonian warrior princess Diana of Themyscira, Gadot's star rose like a rocket. She was widely praised for her performance, as was her character's first solo movie, 2017's "Wonder Woman."

Despite all this success — which includes the fact that "Wonder Woman" grossed $822 million at the global box office – Gadot took home very little of the profits. In fact, per The Hollywood Reporter, Gadot's starting salary for the superhero feature was $300,000. However, her deal is industry standard for a relative newcomer, and included back-end bonuses based on the movie's success and likely opportunities to renegotiate as the franchise grew. According to Vanity Fair, the Israeli actor took home a far more substantial $10 million for the 2020 sequel, "Wonder Woman: 1984." Gadot also followed in Margot Robbie's footsteps and took on a producer role for the sequel, which likely gave her more creative control and a salary increase.

Ben Affleck debuted as billionaire Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, in 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Affleck was already known all over the world for his performances in such hits as "Armageddon," "Good Will Hunting," and "Gone Girl," as well as his work as a director: He's helmed massively acclaimed films like "The Town," "Argo," and "Gone Baby Gone." According to Deadline, Affleck likely pulled in an eight-figure salary for his first DCEU outing, in keeping with his earnings for other films.

According to Bustle, Affleck took home $12.5 million for "Suicide Squad" — a film that gives him far less screen time than "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which was released a few months earlier. According to the outlet, this is a pretty standard figure for him to make on a feature film. However, it's probable that Warner Bros. paid Affleck more than his standard quote to face off against Henry Cavill. Whatever he earned, we're sure it was significant.

Jason Momoa took home a cool $3 million for playing the titular superhero in 2018's "Aquaman," as reported by The New York Post. This is significantly more than his "Justice League" co-stars Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot got for their first solo features. But Momoa was already a sizable name by the time he picked up Arthur Curry's trident: Fans around the world knew and loved him as Khal Drogo from the HBO mega-hit "Game of Thrones."

Momoa's earnings massively increased in the wake of the film's success. And boy, did it find success: "Aquaman" took home more than $1 billion worldwide. This nearly doubled what "Man of Steel" raked in, and solidly tops profits from "Wonder Woman." Aglow with triumph, Momoa was easily able to renegotiate his deal for the second film, securing a much higher salary for his return to Atlantis. According to Variety, the actor earned $15 million for the 2023 sequel, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom."

After pursuing the film for over a decade, Dwayne Johnson finally got to play the titular superhero in 2022's "Black Adam" (per Total Film). Though the film didn't earn the best reviews, Johnson is grateful for the experience. As he remarked on Twitter after the film's release, "After 15 years of relentless hard work to finally make 'Black Adam,' I'm very proud of the film we delivered for fans worldwide. I will always look back on the fan reaction to 'Black Adam' with tremendous gratitude, humility, and love."

Johnson didn't mention it in his Tweet, but his impressive salary probably also counts as one of the high points of making "Black Adam." According to Variety, the star made $22.5 million for his performance as the titular antihero. He was able to increase his earnings by serving as a producer on the feature, and for his efforts to hype up the film via social media. This is by far the highest salary of any actor in the DCEU. But, as one Warner Bros. executive noted, if anyone justifies that kind of salary, it's an actor like Dwayne Johnson.