Well, if you’re going to exit stage left out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr.’s proven that Avengers: Endgame is the film to do it in.
Not only did his beloved character, Tony Stark/Iron Man, receive a heroic goodbye in his final moments of life, having finally saved the world from the threat of Thanos, but it seems the famed actor’s also earned quite the sum from the galactic epic.
It goes without saying that Endgame marked a humungous victory for Disney and Marvel Studios. Though the film’s still kind of kicking it with a “special” re-release, it seems it’ll stay at the number two spot for highest grossing movie ever, having earned nearly $2.8 billion worldwide – from our latest report, the superhero pic’s still $15 million away from James Cameron and Avatar.
So it makes sense that the stars themselves are living quite comfortably. But Downey Jr.’s sitting especially pretty. Combined with his reported starting salary of $20 million, the 54-year-old mega actor has now made an additional $55 million from the box office sales. If the math weren’t obvious, that’s literally over a million dollars per year of his life.
The initial payday already made Downey Jr. the highest paid actor in Endgame, and not by a small bit. He made $5 million more than his co-heroes Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Evans. But it’s the Sherlock Holmes star’s 8% back-end deal that brought in the real dollars.
Forbes reported that the film’s only made about $700 million in profit thus far (I know, “only” is a stretch). So the math fits, ladies and gentleman, cha-ching. $55 million. But who says the man who pioneered the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t deserve it?
What are your thoughts, though? Has Avengers: Endgame given Downey Jr. everything he’s earned for his years of service? And do you think the film can muster enough energy to push past Avatar? Shoot us a comment below and let us know.