Charlize Theron has starred in a slew of successful movies but one of her biggest paydays came from a flop she was barely in.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Charlize Theron was rumored to be paid $10 million for her role in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, even though she had very little screen time.
Theron’s demand to be paid the same amount as her male co-star, Chris Hemsworth, was met by Universal Pictures.
Despite her large paycheck, The Huntsman: Winter’s War was a financial flop for Universal Pictures.

Throughout Hollywood history, there have been several people whose careers have been ruined because they starred in a flop. A perfect example of that is the fact that the director of an Eddie Murphy movie that utterly failed had his career ruined.

On the other hand, stars like Charlize Theron that people love so much that they examine their accents can survive starring in a flop. In fact, unlike other stars who’ve passed on huge paydays, Theron made $10 million from a flop and walked away with barely anyone noticing.

How Much Money Was Charlize Theron Paid For The Huntsman: Winter’s War?

In 2012, Snow White and the Huntsman was released with Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, and Chris Hemsworth in starring roles. A film that reimagined the Snow White story as a fantasy action film, Snow White and the Huntsman was released to lukewarm reviews.

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As of the time of this writing, Snow White and the Huntsman has a 49% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, film goers didn’t love Snow White and the Huntsman either, as it has a 52% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing.

Similar to how Snow White and the Huntsman received lukewarm reviews, the movie also wasn’t a huge financial success. However, the film made enough money that Universal Pictures decided to move forward by green-lighting a sequel.

How much money did Snow White and the Huntsman make according to The Numbers?

Snow White and the Huntsman
2012

Production Budget:
$170,000,000

Domestic Box Office:
$155,136,755

Worldwide Box Office:
$401,021,746

Domestic DVD Sales:
$32,868,654

Domestic Blu Ray Sales:
$18,738,861

Even the dystopian craze couldn’t save a six-million-dollar film with Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey, and Suki Waterhouse.

In 2016, The Huntsman: Winter’s War was released without Kristen Stewart involved. That left Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth to headline the sequel. Since The Huntsman: Winter’s War’s marketing focused on Theron, it makes sense that she was rumored to be paid $10 million for the role according to Forbes.

At least, it makes sense until film fans sit down to watch The Huntsman: Winter’s War. After all, in terms of screen time, Theron definitely isn’t a big part of The Huntsman: Winter’s War.

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In 2016, Vulture published an article looking at how much Theron was paid for The Huntsman: Winter’s War. As a part of that article, Vulture pointed out how little Theron’s character actually appeared in the movie.

“Watch the film, though, and you’ll notice something. Hemsworth is the star of the film; with the exception of a brief prologue where his character’s a child, he’s in the whole thing. Theron’s Ravenna, meanwhile, has … four scenes? Maybe five, depending on how you count them. In a two-hour movie, she’s got about ten minutes of screen time — less than Hawkeye gets in the first Avengers.”

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Considering that Forbes reported on the rumor that Theron was paid $10 million and so did lots of other outlets, it seems likely that figure is accurate. On top of that, the fact that nobody involved with The Huntsman: Winter’s War has ever disputed that figure makes it all but certain that is what Theron was paid.

Keeping in mind that Theron appeared onscreen for roughly ten minutes, that makes a staggering fact apparent. In all likelihood, Theron was paid $1 million for every minute she appeared onscreen in The Huntsman: Winter’s War.

Of course, many male actors have been paid a staggering amount for each minute they appeared onscreen over the years. For that reason, many outlets celebrated Theron for almost certainly getting an amazing deal for herself.

How Did Charlize Theron Get Paid So Much For The Huntsman: Winter’s War?

During Charlize Theron’s career, she has starred in several financially successful films. On top of that, Theron has also given several acclaimed performances and she even won an Oscar for her work in the movie Monster.

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Given everything that Theron has accomplished, it should be a no-brainer that she gets paid millions per role. However, when it comes to Theron’s The Huntsman: Winter’s War salary, there is a fascinating story behind how she was paid $10 million.

In 2016, Sony Pictures suffered a cyberattack which resulted in many of the studio’s executives having their emails leaked. Unsurprisingly, there was a treasure trove of gossip, drama, and important information that was revealed in those leaks.

Easily one of the most important things exposed by the leaks was how bad the gender pay gap in Hollywood is. After all, it was revealed that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams were both paid significantly less than their male co-stars to headline American Hustle.

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After that news went public, the studios were under a lot of pressure to close the gender pay gap. Thankfully for Theron, she was negotiating her The Huntsman: Winter’s War deal in that environment.

How much money did The Huntsman: Winter’s War make according to The Numbers?

The Huntsman: Winter’s War
2016

Production Budget:
$115,000,000

Domestic Box Office:
$48,003,015

International Box Office:
$117,146,287

Domestic DVD Sales:
$5,938,505

Domestic Blu Ray Sales:
$9,410,910

According to a Page Six report about her negotiations to star in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Theron stuck up for herself. Confident and smart enough to understand her value, Theron reportedly demanded to be paid the same amount as Chris Hemsworth. Universal Pictures agreed to Theron’s demand, which is why Theron reportedly received $10 million for The Huntsman: Winter’s War.

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In 2015, Theron spoke to Elle U.K. about her battle to be paid as much as Chris Hemsworth. Based on Theron’s comments to the publication, she seemed to confirm the reporting about how she got her huge payday.

“I have to give them credit because once I asked, they said yes. They did not fight it. And maybe that’s the message: That we just need to put our foot down. This is a good time for us to bring this to a place of fairness, and girls need to know that being a feminist is a good thing.”

Unfortunately for Universal Pictures, the money they invested in producing The Huntsman: Winter’s War didn’t pay off. When The Huntsman: Winter’s War was released in 2016, it flopped.