Why Was Robert Pattinson "Only" Paid $3 Million For The Batman?
Rachel Hickman Robert Pattinson was reportedly paid $3 million for The Batman, a relatively low sum for such a major blockbuster, so how does his salary work out?
There’s a reason why Robert Pattison received a low salary of “only” $3 million for his titular role in The Batman. Following the reveal of Hollywood's highest-paid movie stars of 2021, some were surprised to learn Pattinson rounded out the bottom of the list. Matt Reeves’ The Batman premiered in theaters on March 4, 2022, and was released on HBO Max on April 18. Warner Bros' biggest DC release since The Suicide Squad, The Batman's notable cast members include Robert Pattinson (Batman), Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman), and Paul Dano (Riddler).
Set in year two of Batman's crimefighting career, The Batman pits Pattinson’s Dark Knight against Riddler, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Penguin (Colin Farrell). It delivers on Reeves’ promise of a noir-centric detective story that puts Batman’s skills to the ultimate test. After being clearly well-positioned to do so, The Batman was a blockbuster success, and yet, the film had a relatively modest budget. After all, The Batman’s $185 million budget is a far cry from Warner Bros.’ $300 million theatrical Justice League.
While The Batman's relatively low budget may have been a factor in Pattinson’s “low” salary, it’s unlikely to be the primary issue at hand. Therefore, there must be a bigger reason why Pattinson’s salary was less than that of other high-paid actors of 2021 such as Ryan Gosling or Keanu Reeves. After all, The Batman fared much better at the box office than Reeves' The Matrix: Resurrections, and could even compete with Gosling’s The Gray Man, which premieres on Netflix on July 15, 2022.
Robert Pattinson Isn’t An A-Lister, Hence His The Batman Pay
The most likely reason behind Pattinson's comparably low The Batman salary is that, despite being a highly recognizable name, Robert Pattinson simply isn’t an A-list movie star. Robert Pattinson gained worldwide fame for playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and his role as Edward Cullen in Twilight. However, Pattinson followed these major franchise appearances with nearly a decade of obscure indie films such as The Rover and The Lighthouse. Of course, such projects were still worthwhile, as they allowed Pattinson to work with great auteur directors and hone his skills as a truly talented actor. Unfortunately, however, despite his recent slew of solid performances, Pattinson is not a proven box office draw.
The list of highest-paid actors of 2021 is largely dominated by proven, bankable stars, such as Tom Cruise for Top Gun: Maverick ($13m) and Brad Pitt for Bullet Train ($20m), alongside the aforementioned Gosling ($20m) and Reeves ($12-14m). While the age of movie stars is coming to an end, generally these names do offer a greater chance of success. Pattinson, on the other hand, does not have a visibly large enough fan base or blockbuster experience to command the same salary. Consequently, this is why Hollywood doesn’t always cast the perfect actor for a role. Oftentimes, studios prioritize name recognition and the potential for box office draw.
What The Other Batman Actors Got Paid
Robert Pattinson is only the latest in a long, storied list of actors to play Bruce Wayne and Batman onscreen, beginning with Lewis Wilson in 1943 and including such notable names as Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney. Of course, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck are also huge names to take on the Batman role in the 21st century, in The Dark Knight trilogy and DC's Justice League franchise, respectively. Bale, Affleck, and Pattinson's Batman portrayals were all different, and all earned very different salaries, too. Affleck was paid upwards of $10 million for each of his major Batman appearances, while Bale earned a total of $54 million for the whole The Dark Knight franchise, which averages about $18 million per film. George Clooney made close to $18 million in today's dollars for playing Batman in 1997's Batman & Robin, while Michael Keaton was paid $10 million for Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), which is about $23 million today.
By comparison, Robert Pattinson's The Batman salary of $3 million falls quite short. Nonetheless, there is another factor to consider concerning this seemingly low salary. Many of 2021's highest-paid actors have streaming service films factored into their salaries, such as Daniel Craig's $100 million salary for Knives Out 2 & 3 with Netflix, and Dwayne Johnson's $50m for Amazon's Red One. When a movie releases on streaming rather than in theaters, the actor’s pay reflects the built-in bonuses/back-ends that would normally be paid out based on final box office numbers. Essentially, Pattinson’s final pay will presumably be considerably more than this initial up-front salary. This is why Pattinson was “only” paid $3 million for donning the cape and cowl in The Batman, because he has likely made more than that since the film's release.
