Superman's Reported Cast Salaries Confirm One Actor Was Paid More Than David Corenswet
by Nina Starner · /FilmDavid Corenswet might be the titular super guy in James Gunn's 2025 "Superman" movie, but according to a report from Matt Belloni at Puck News, he's not the highest paid member of the main cast.
This could be perceived as somewhat scandalous, because the report claims that Corenswet, who plays Clark Kent in the movie, was paid $750,000 — the same amount as his Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" fame) — while Nicholas Hoult, who's been a big-screen staple for decades at this point, netted the highest salary of the main cast with a reported $2 million. (Keep in mind, Robert Downey Jr. was only paid $500,000 for the first "Iron Man," and Chris Evans got $300,000 for the first "Captain America.") As Belloni says, though, it's important to note that all three of the "Superman" stars could get some pretty big bonuses if (well, more likely, when) their movie blows everyone away at the box office.
It's also important to underline the fact that both Corenswet and Brosnahan are television actors who are, as Belloni put it, "untested in film." Hoult, on the other hand, has been a part of arthouse favorites, critical darlings, and massive blockbusters since he got his start in "About a Boy" in 2002. Yes, Hoult did the necessary stint on "Skins" (other future stars hailing from Britain like Daniel Kaluuya did the same), but he's also been in movies like "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The Favourite," "X-Men: First Class" and its sequels, "The Menu," "Juror No. 2," and "Nosferatu."
The paychecks were significantly higher for the last big-budget standalone Superman movie, 2013's "Man of Steel," but that one cast marquee names like Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, and Russell Crowe. In any case, it seems like 2025's "Superman" is going to do just fine at the box office, and reviews have been pretty overwhelmingly positive.
Superman is poised to be a critical and commercial success
I don't think James Gunn and his lead actors need to worry about the financial future of "Superman," because if Deadline is to be believed, David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult could clean up very nicely once all is said and done at the box office. According to the outlet's tracking ahead of the movie's July 11 premiere, the movie raked in an impressive $22.5 million in previews alone, which beats records set by both 2023's "Barbie" and Matt Reeves' 2022 superhero reboot "The Batman."
As for the reviews that came out around the film's release, they're good. In his review for Vanity Fair, Richard Lawson singled out Corenswet, which might help the guy get a little pay boost: "It's a shrewdly balanced film, a mix of flippant merriment and real dramatic stakes. Gunn would have a much harder time selling his new approach had he not cast smartly. Fortunately, he's found an appealing Kal-El/Clark in TV actor David Corenswet." At The Atlantic, David Sims wrote, "This Superman is, more than anything, concerned with our society's struggle to accept the possibility of inherent goodness. The result is an optimistic movie, one that sees a hopeful way forward for both Superman and the world's other caped men and women." /Film's own Chris Evangelista loved the film, writing, "There's nothing grim or dark here, just a real sense of entertaining silliness that left a big, stupid smile on my face. In our current media landscape, such an approach feels surprisingly bold."
I think Ann Hornaday, writing for The Washington Post, honed in on something particularly important: "In Corenswet, Brosnahan, Hoult and their co-stars, Gunn has clearly found a capable, congenial ensemble to usher Clark, Lois and Lex into a new era." When this movie becomes a huge success for Gunn and Warner Bros., it's safe to say that his lead trio of actors will be presented with huge paychecks and potential sequels ... and their "smaller" salaries for the first film will pay off handsomely.
"Superman" is in theaters now.