Zoe Saldana is one of the biggest and most popular actresses on the planet, and this is thanks to appearing in countless hit films. She can lay claim to being in the MCU, the Star Trek franchise, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and even the Avatar franchise. She’s a pretty big deal, and few people in history can boast a list of credits like hers.
Despite all of the success that she has had in Hollywood, Zoe Saldana is not being paid like the star she is. In fact, many consider her among the most underpaid in the business, and people are wondering when that is going to change.
Let’s look at Zoe Saldana and see if she will be paid like the A-list performer she has proven to be.
She Has Starred In The Biggest Movies Ever Made
It is easy to look at the actresses receiving the most press and awards nominations and assume that they are the ones dominating the box office, but those that have been keeping a closer eye on things will gladly attest to the fact that Zoe Saldana has been a box office dominator for years now. In fact, Saldana has been in the biggest movies ever made, and yet, her salary does not always reflect this.
Now, many people recognize Zoe Saldana from a number of different things, but she hasn’t always looked the same in her biggest films. Take Avatar and Avengers: Endgame, for instance. Saldana looked nothing like herself, but was still a huge part of both movies. These flicks are quite literally in first and second place on the all-time box office list, which is an incredible feat to have.
As if those two movies weren’t impressive enough, she can also include the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Avengers: Infinity War, the Star Trek movies, and even Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. That is a list of movies that any performer would be lucky have, and she shined in all of them.
Even though Saldana has put together one of the most impressive set of credits ever seen, there is an argument to be made that she has been perhaps the most underpaid actress of her era, especially when others are making significantly more.
Her Salary Hasn’t Reflected Her Success
Now, it is known that the biggest stars in Hollywood can command up to $20 million per film, and while many men are the ones doing this, there have been some actresses who have crossed this coveted mark, as well. Performers like Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence have both pulled this off.
According to Remezcla back in 2018, “Saldaña has never made the annual Forbes list of the year’s 10 highest-paid actresses. This week, Scarlett Johansson topped the 2018 Forbes top-paid actress list by receiving $40.5 million in wages. Neither Zoe Saldaña nor any other woman of color made it into the top ten. Besides earning more at the box office than nearly all of the top-paid actresses, Saldaña is also more bankable than Mark Wahlberg—the top paid actor of 2017.”
To give an example of how underpaid she is, Saldana only made around $100,000 for Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014. Shocking, right? It’s hard to believe that she has yet to be paid like the box office draw she is when performers who aren’t faring nearly as well are being paid significantly more than she is.
Will It Change?
As it stands now, Saldana is attached to a number of projects that are all but guaranteed to make a fortune at the box office. She is attached to four different Avatar films, and she is attached to MCU projects like Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. These films alone should be paying the actress top-dollar for her efforts, as she played an integral part in both Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy becoming mainstream franchises that have made a fortune.
Unfortunately, there is still a wage gap in Hollywood, and there are stars who are not being compensated as they should. Many of Saldana’s projects have not outright stated how much she has made, but if she was rolling in the $20 million paydays that she deserves, then we imagine that it would make headlines.
Should she actually be compensated fairly, then expect Saldana to be one of the highest-paid performers in the world, which is a distinction she has earned.
A paltry $100,000 for movies like Guardians of the Galaxy is simply not going to cut it anymore. Zoe Saldana has earned far more than what she has made previously.