The Avengers have been smashing box office records left and right. They opened with a thunderous haul of $200 million in their opening weekend and continued the moment with a strong second weekend take of $100 million. At the domestic box office the film is just shy of $400 million after ten days, and has accumulated over $600 million overseas making the film join the exclusive billion dollar club.
What many people didn't know was that
The Avengers tremendous performance is extremely good news for Robert Downey Jr.'s pockets. His savvy agent renegotiated his contract with Marvel after the success of
Iron Man that allowed him a slice of Marvel's revenues. Factor that in with his bonuses and the actor is about to make some Tony Stark-like money, to the sum of $50 million.
According to multiple knowledgeable sources, Iron Man/Tony Stark is set for a high-flying payday of about $50 million once box office bonuses and back-end compensation are factored in. (Two sources claim the number could go higher than $50 million once the ultimate box-office haul of Avengers is known, but another source cautions that it could be years before the final number is known.) While on par with the upper echelon of franchise movie stars, that number blows away his superhero co-stars, all of whom will make a small fraction of Downey’s total, even as Avengers has a shot at topping the final Harry Potter film’s $1.32 billion global haul.
Why the difference? When Marvel’s Iron Man grossed a surprising $585 million worldwide in 2008, Downey’s reps at CAA and the Hansen Jacobson law firm renegotiated a deal to include what multiple sources say is a slice of Marvel’s revenue from future movies in which he plays Iron Man (one source puts it in the 5 percent to 7 percent range; another source disputes the percentage. Marvel and Downey’s reps declined to comment).
Marvel's The Avengers picks up when an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security. And Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. With director Joss Whedon at it's helm, and an ensemble cast including Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark), Chris Hemsworth (Thor Odinson), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff), Clark Gregg (Agt. Phil Coulson), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), with Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and Stellan Skarsgard (Professor Erik Selvig), the film releases worldwide May 4, 2012!