Even today, only a few can match the star power of Angelina Jolie. The actress, director, and humanitarian is a global icon whose Hollywood career spans more than two decades. During that time, Jolie has also proven to be quite the box office draw with several of her films earning over $100 million at the box office. This includes her first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie Eternals, which earned over $400 million following its release in 2021.RELATED: The Real Reason Angelina Jolie Returned To ActingClearly, Jolie is one of Hollywood’s biggest moneymakers, which might also explain why the Oscar winner is one of the highest-paid actresses around.

Angelina Jolie Doesn’t Need An Agent To Get Roles

As far as her Hollywood career goes, it’s hard to predict what Jolie would do next. Ever since she was starting out, she’s been known to take risks, which may explain why she boldly played the late model Gia Marie Carangi in the tv movie Gia which caught the eye of critics.

Shortly after, Jolie took on the supporting role of sociopath Lisa Rowe in another biopic, Girl, Interrupted. And while it was Winona Ryder who played the lead in the film, it was ultimately Jolie who won critics once more. This time, the actress also scored an Oscar win for her performance.

Around the same time, Jolie also ventured into other roles, partnering up as a homicide detective with Denzel Washington in The Bone Collector, playing the wife of a flight traffic controller in Pushing Tin, and helping Nicolas Cage steal cars in the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds. Not long after, the actress also famously took on the role of Lara Croft in the Lara Croft franchise.

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Over the years, Jolie continued to be in demand, working on films such as Original Sin, The Tourist, Changeling, Salt, Wanted, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Maleficent. And unbeknownst to many, the Oscar winner was picking and negotiating roles on her own because she could.

“Literally, she gets every single script that has a female role aged between eighteen and 40—every script,” Henckel von Donnersmarck, who directed Jolie and Johnny Depp in The Tourist, revealed. “And she just follows her feeling, holds her own counsel. She’s probably the only global megastar that doesn’t even have an agent—she doesn’t even have a publicist.”

Angelina Was Open To More Roles After Having Her Twins

Aside from following her ‘feeling,’ Jolie may also choose projects for more practical reasons especially after she started a family with her ex-husband Brad Pitt. “I was looking for a very short thing to do before Brad started filming [Moneyball],” the actress said of The Tourist.

“And I said I needed something that shoots not too long, in a nice location for my family. Somebody said there’s a script that’s been around, and it shoots in Venice and Paris. And I said, ‘Is it a character I haven’t played before?’ And they said, ‘Yes, it’s a lady.’”

On the other hand, Jolie chose Salt partly because she wanted to get back into shape after having twins (Vivienne and Knox). “I was feeding the babies while I was reading the script,” she recalled. “And I was feeling very round and lovely and Mom-y, and I’d been living in a nightgown for a very, very long time.”

How Much Is Angelina Jolie Paid Per Movie?

With Jolie being constantly wooed by studios, it comes as no surprise that the actress would command quite a film salary. For instance, it was revealed in 2007 that the actress typically gets paid anywhere between $15 to $20 million per movie, which may or may not include a backend fee. Over the years, Jolie reportedly collected $15 million for Wanted and $20 million for Salt.

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That said, Jolie, like her fellow A-listers, may also agree to “no-quote deals” from time to time, wherein she gets paid a little less. This was reportedly the case for the animated film Beowulf where Jolie earned an estimated $8 million for just a few weeks’ work.

On the other hand, Jolie was also named the second highest-paid actress in 2020, pocketing a cool $35.5 million for her film work. And while her deal with Marvel was never publicized, it was reported that the majority of earnings that year most likely came from her Eternals paycheck, which is said to be eight figures.

Sequels Tend To Pay Angelina Even More

It turns out, the actress also tends to collect more when her films get sequels. Such was the case when Jolie agreed to return for Disney’s Maleficent 2 and reportedly collected $33 million. Previously, the actress received around $15 million for the 2014 film Maleficent.

As far as acting projects go, Jolie is currently attached to two films, the sequel Maleficent 3 (which will most likely come with another salary bump) and the film adaptation of the novel Every Note Played. Meanwhile, the actress is also hard at work directing the film Without Blood, which stars Eternals co-star Salma Hayek.

NEXT: How Much Is Angelina Jolie Earning For Maleficent 3?