December 31, 2024 • 8 mins
Today we dive into the financials of Marvels Iron Man. Lets discuss how much money the movie generated on its budget and which actors got paid the most for their roles. Robert downey jr , Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jeff Bridges. If you enjoy this video please hit the like and if you want to know when new videos are released hit the subscribe button.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You want to know how much this guy got paid
for playing this guy, or who had of all these
actors got paid the most to Starr in Iron Man,
the answer might just surprise you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Iron Man, the movie that launched the Marvel cinematic universe,
was not a guaranteed hit, and at the time was
a great risk for the studio. The film was Marvel
Studio's first fully financed film, with other Marvel based superhero
films being produced by studios like Fox or Sony. Paramount
Pictures agreed to distribute the film, whose production budget was
a mere one hundred and forty million dollars, and I
(00:36):
mean that only in contrast to today's superhero flick budgets.
In comparison, released ten years later, Infinity War ran a
budget of three hundred and forty million dollars. So there's
that taking a shot in the dark really paid off
for The ten Man, as it raked in ninety eight
point six million.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Dollars opening weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Over the course of his theatrical run, it managed to
gross three hundred and nineteen million dollars in the US
and Canada, plus two hundred and sixty six point eight
million in other territories totally over five hundred and eighty
five million dollars worldwide, with around four hundred and forty
five million in profits. This was a monumental success, set
in the stage for future Marvel films. But that's just
(01:18):
box office. Let's talk extras. The film made iron Man
a household name and with it made fans want to
get further into the action. Iron Man had a great
post box office run, with over one hundred and eighty
three million dollars in DVD sales, over fourteen million in
Blu Ray sales, and who knows how much in streaming
numbers are Those are quite hard to come by, but
(01:40):
it's safe to assume that they generated huge numbers there too.
The film also benefited greatly from merchandise sales of action figures, apparel, games,
and collectibles, which generated over one billion in revenue, further
solidifying the film's financial impact.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So what did the actors take from all this.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Let's start with the man, Tony Stark iron Man himself,
played by Robert Downey Jr. Coming off his last film,
Charlie Bartlett, which was a box office flop with the
lowly budget of twelve million and bringing in only five
point two million.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
At the box office.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
It was fair to say Robert was not in a
huge demand or a big drawing at the time, and
most of the studio didn't stand behind his casting. Names
like Timothy Oliphant and Sam Rockwell, who later would play
the role of Justin Hamman iron Man two, were front
runners to play Tony Stark in the film. It was
John Farvreau, who met with Downey and was set to
direct the film, who insisted having him as the lead.
(02:35):
It was said that this led to him agreeing to
a pay cut, which may or may not actually be true,
but he received the salary of just five hundred thousand
dollars for his role as Tony Stark. Rumors also state
that most MCU stars are offered royalties on latest streams
of their films, but more importantly, they received royalties of
a merchandise that represents their likeness of the film. These
(02:55):
merchandise splits are said to range between one to eight percent,
but let's just say Robert got the absolute word split
at one percent. With the billion in merch sales that
would still net him an additional ten million dollars, bringing
his iron Man revenue on the low end, easily over
ten point five million dollars. It might not be enough
for the Avengers Tower, but it could get you a
pretty cool spot near the city. Gwyneth Paltrow, who played
(03:19):
Pepper Potts, was just featured in Two Lovers alongside Joaquin Phoenix,
a movie with a nine point eight million dollar budget
that grows sixteen point eight million worldwide, and before that,
she was featured in The Good Night, a fifteen million
dollar budget film that grossed just over five hundred thousand
dollars at the box office. While we don't know the
exact information that Paltrow was paid for these films, we
(03:41):
could assume not so much, giving the budget's word too
crazy to begin with. But all that aside, it is
reported that Paltrow made approximately five hundred thousand for a
role as Tony Stark's love interest in Iron Man, which
is about the same amount one of her prior films,
The Good Night, grossed at the box office, thankfully putting
that film's earnings to bed. Jeff Bridges, who portrayed Obadiah Stain,
(04:02):
the villain of the film, his prior film, was actually
a pretty high profile voice acting job. He voiced the
character big Z in the one hundred million dollar budgeted
animated film Serfs Up. Surceup went on to snatch one
hundred and fifty million at the box office and even
scored a sequel, which Bridges was not a part of
because the cast was some reason replaced by WWE Superstars.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
I have no idea of what he came up with
that decision.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
The project was initiated by World Wrestling Entertainment in WWE,
which acquired with possible project that would help expand their
brand and reaching new generation of audiences. According to you,
wwe thought that search Up had a really fun vibe.
It's really lighthearted. It's got a lot of goofy cart
Juni fun. He also remarked that the film is about surfing,
it's about sports, so we thought it was a natural fit.
All character designs had to be approved by ww.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
With the recognizable face and a solid fan base, Bridges
was reported to make somewhere between five hundred thousand and
one million dollars for his role in the superhero flick,
which isn't too shabby. But the dude, before we get
into this next one, if you like the content that
you see in here today so far, please consider hitting
the subscribe button. Also tap the like button to help
the algorithm recommend us to other people who made like this. Okay,
(05:08):
let's get into the next one. Last, but certainly not least,
we have Terrence Howard. Howard played Colonel James Rhodes, also
known as Tony Stark's best Friend or war Machine. Howard's
previous two films paying a very confusing picture to his
overall movie choice and or his star power. His previous film,
The Perfect Holiday, had a budget of twenty million dollars
(05:29):
and brought in only five point eight million at the
box office. The film before that, Awake, bought in thirty
two point seven million against the eight point six million
dollar budget. Howard's box office power was unpredictable, to say
the least. Even with this, he secured a whopping three
point five million dollars for his role in Iron Man,
making him the highest paid actor in the film by far,
(05:51):
well at least on the front end. All this without
even getting to suit up in the war Machine suit.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Damn next time.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Ultimately, the studio with Howard parted ways before the sequel
due to pay disputes, with Howard stating they wanted to
give him just one million dollars for the second film
instead of the eight million he was originally promised. This
caused his character to be replaced by actor Don Cheetle.
Listening here to Howard's account of the events from the
Joe Rogan podcast, I was.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Doing Iron Man. Yeah, out of nowhere. You know that
gets taken away. We did a three picture deal with Marvel,
a three picture deal. Four and a half million for
the first one, seven and a half to eight million
for the second one, twelve million for the third. We
signed it and they said, yeah, we want Terrence, but
we want to come back for a million dollars instead
(06:43):
of the eight million that we had agreed to. Calling
Robert and he's doing Sherlock Holmes, I called him twenty
seven times and I'm like, then leave a message. I'm
calling his assistant. I'm like, I need the help I
gave you. I didn't hear from him until three years later.
I'm bumped into him at Brian Grazier's wedding.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Samuel L.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Jackson's Nick Fury also appeared as a cameo in the film,
but this was more of a test run to his
eventual non movie deal with Marvel, so the details on
his pay rate for this aren't publicly known at the moment.
So to summarize, iron Man was filmed with the production
budget of one hundred and forty million dollars. It opened
to a ninety eight point six million dollar weekend with
(07:25):
five hundred and eighty five million dollar worldwide gross. It
pulled in a staggering one billion dollars in merchandise. The
main actors Robert Downey Junior received five hundred thousand plus
one to eight percent of merchandise, which at one percent
would be another ten million, and an unknown royalty back end.
Gwyneth Paltrow scored five hundred thousand, Jeff Bridges earned himself
(07:47):
between five hundred thousand and one million, and Terren Toward
took the title of highest paid actor for the film
at three point five million. But if you account for
Downy's back end and merch money, he may have got
the highest total payout from the movies Full Life, probably still.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Making a few coins every quarter.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Clearly, iron Man was not just a film, It was
a financial phenomenon that paved the way for the Marvel
cinematic universe. Thank you for joining me today. I haven't
really thought of a name for this segment yet. I'm
chicking around ideas. Maybe movie money, film financials, big screen budgets.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
If you like this video, be sure to do the
thing that people always ask comment like subscribe, Let me
know what other projects you'd like me to run the
numbers on, and let me know what you think I
should call this segment. Until next time, Follow the Money.
You want to know how much this guy got paid
for playing this guy, or who had of all these
actors got paid the most to Starr in Iron Man,
the answer might just surprise you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Iron Man, the movie that launched the Marvel cinematic universe,
was not a guaranteed hit, and at the time was
a great risk for the studio. The film was Marvel
Studio's first fully financed film, with other Marvel based superhero
films being produced by studios like Fox or Sony. Paramount
Pictures agreed to distribute the film, whose production budget was
a mere one hundred and forty million dollars, and I
(00:36):
mean that only in contrast to today's superhero flick budgets.
In comparison, released ten years later, Infinity War ran a
budget of three hundred and forty million dollars. So there's
that taking a shot in the dark really paid off
for The ten Man, as it raked in ninety eight
point six million.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Dollars opening weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Over the course of his theatrical run, it managed to
gross three hundred and nineteen million dollars in the US
and Canada, plus two hundred and sixty six point eight
million in other territories totally over five hundred and eighty
five million dollars worldwide, with around four hundred and forty
five million in profits. This was a monumental success, set
in the stage for future Marvel films. But that's just
(01:18):
box office. Let's talk extras. The film made iron Man
a household name and with it made fans want to
get further into the action. Iron Man had a great
post box office run, with over one hundred and eighty
three million dollars in DVD sales, over fourteen million in
Blu Ray sales, and who knows how much in streaming
numbers are Those are quite hard to come by, but
(01:40):
it's safe to assume that they generated huge numbers there too.
The film also benefited greatly from merchandise sales of action figures, apparel, games,
and collectibles, which generated over one billion in revenue, further
solidifying the film's financial impact.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So what did the actors take from all this.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Let's start with the man, Tony Stark iron Man himself,
played by Robert Downey Jr. Coming off his last film,
Charlie Bartlett, which was a box office flop with the
lowly budget of twelve million and bringing in only five
point two million.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
At the box office.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
It was fair to say Robert was not in a
huge demand or a big drawing at the time, and
most of the studio didn't stand behind his casting. Names
like Timothy Oliphant and Sam Rockwell, who later would play
the role of Justin Hamman iron Man two, were front
runners to play Tony Stark in the film. It was
John Farvreau, who met with Downey and was set to
direct the film, who insisted having him as the lead.
(02:35):
It was said that this led to him agreeing to
a pay cut, which may or may not actually be true,
but he received the salary of just five hundred thousand
dollars for his role as Tony Stark. Rumors also state
that most MCU stars are offered royalties on latest streams
of their films, but more importantly, they received royalties of
a merchandise that represents their likeness of the film. These
(02:55):
merchandise splits are said to range between one to eight percent,
but let's just say Robert got the absolute word split
at one percent. With the billion in merch sales that
would still net him an additional ten million dollars, bringing
his iron Man revenue on the low end, easily over
ten point five million dollars. It might not be enough
for the Avengers Tower, but it could get you a
pretty cool spot near the city. Gwyneth Paltrow, who played
(03:19):
Pepper Potts, was just featured in Two Lovers alongside Joaquin Phoenix,
a movie with a nine point eight million dollar budget
that grows sixteen point eight million worldwide, and before that,
she was featured in The Good Night, a fifteen million
dollar budget film that grossed just over five hundred thousand
dollars at the box office. While we don't know the
exact information that Paltrow was paid for these films, we
(03:41):
could assume not so much, giving the budget's word too
crazy to begin with. But all that aside, it is
reported that Paltrow made approximately five hundred thousand for a
role as Tony Stark's love interest in Iron Man, which
is about the same amount one of her prior films,
The Good Night, grossed at the box office, thankfully putting
that film's earnings to bed. Jeff Bridges, who portrayed Obadiah Stain,
(04:02):
the villain of the film, his prior film, was actually
a pretty high profile voice acting job. He voiced the
character big Z in the one hundred million dollar budgeted
animated film Serfs Up. Surceup went on to snatch one
hundred and fifty million at the box office and even
scored a sequel, which Bridges was not a part of
because the cast was some reason replaced by WWE Superstars.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
I have no idea of what he came up with
that decision.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
The project was initiated by World Wrestling Entertainment in WWE,
which acquired with possible project that would help expand their
brand and reaching new generation of audiences. According to you,
wwe thought that search Up had a really fun vibe.
It's really lighthearted. It's got a lot of goofy cart
Juni fun. He also remarked that the film is about surfing,
it's about sports, so we thought it was a natural fit.
All character designs had to be approved by ww.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
With the recognizable face and a solid fan base, Bridges
was reported to make somewhere between five hundred thousand and
one million dollars for his role in the superhero flick,
which isn't too shabby. But the dude, before we get
into this next one, if you like the content that
you see in here today so far, please consider hitting
the subscribe button. Also tap the like button to help
the algorithm recommend us to other people who made like this. Okay,
(05:08):
let's get into the next one. Last, but certainly not least,
we have Terrence Howard. Howard played Colonel James Rhodes, also
known as Tony Stark's best Friend or war Machine. Howard's
previous two films paying a very confusing picture to his
overall movie choice and or his star power. His previous film,
The Perfect Holiday, had a budget of twenty million dollars
(05:29):
and brought in only five point eight million at the
box office. The film before that, Awake, bought in thirty
two point seven million against the eight point six million
dollar budget. Howard's box office power was unpredictable, to say
the least. Even with this, he secured a whopping three
point five million dollars for his role in Iron Man,
making him the highest paid actor in the film by far,
(05:51):
well at least on the front end. All this without
even getting to suit up in the war Machine suit.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Damn next time.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Ultimately, the studio with Howard parted ways before the sequel
due to pay disputes, with Howard stating they wanted to
give him just one million dollars for the second film
instead of the eight million he was originally promised. This
caused his character to be replaced by actor Don Cheetle.
Listening here to Howard's account of the events from the
Joe Rogan podcast, I was.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Doing Iron Man. Yeah, out of nowhere. You know that
gets taken away. We did a three picture deal with Marvel,
a three picture deal. Four and a half million for
the first one, seven and a half to eight million
for the second one, twelve million for the third. We
signed it and they said, yeah, we want Terrence, but
we want to come back for a million dollars instead
(06:43):
of the eight million that we had agreed to. Calling
Robert and he's doing Sherlock Holmes, I called him twenty
seven times and I'm like, then leave a message. I'm
calling his assistant. I'm like, I need the help I
gave you. I didn't hear from him until three years later.
I'm bumped into him at Brian Grazier's wedding.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Samuel L.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Jackson's Nick Fury also appeared as a cameo in the film,
but this was more of a test run to his
eventual non movie deal with Marvel, so the details on
his pay rate for this aren't publicly known at the moment.
So to summarize, iron Man was filmed with the production
budget of one hundred and forty million dollars. It opened
to a ninety eight point six million dollar weekend with
(07:25):
five hundred and eighty five million dollar worldwide gross. It
pulled in a staggering one billion dollars in merchandise. The
main actors Robert Downey Junior received five hundred thousand plus
one to eight percent of merchandise, which at one percent
would be another ten million, and an unknown royalty back end.
Gwyneth Paltrow scored five hundred thousand, Jeff Bridges earned himself
(07:47):
between five hundred thousand and one million, and Terren Toward
took the title of highest paid actor for the film
at three point five million. But if you account for
Downy's back end and merch money, he may have got
the highest total payout from the movies Full Life, probably still.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Making a few coins every quarter.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Clearly, iron Man was not just a film, It was
a financial phenomenon that paved the way for the Marvel
cinematic universe. Thank you for joining me today. I haven't
really thought of a name for this segment yet. I'm
chicking around ideas. Maybe movie money, film financials, big screen budgets.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
If you like this video, be sure to do the
thing that people always ask comment like subscribe, Let me
know what other projects you'd like me to run the
numbers on, and let me know what you think I
should call this segment. Until next time, Follow the Money.
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