How Much Was Scarlett Johansson Paid For Her Blockbuster Movie, ‘Lucy’?

Scarlett Johansson is one of the highest-earning actresses in Hollywood, having made a whopping $56 million in 2019 alone, according to Forbes. Of course, the talented actress has Marvel to thank for a huge amount of that sum, thanks to her role as Black Widow in the Avengers franchise, not to mention she has her highly-anticipated self-titled solo film coming out in April 2021.

Needless to say, however, Scarlett has come a long way ever since landing her breakout role in 1998’s The Horse Whisperer, alongside Robert Redford and Kristin Scott Thomas. She’s also had a lot of success with other movies including Lost In Translation, Ghost World, Her, and, of course, Lucy,

With a budget of just under $40 million, the action-packed flick made close to $500 million at the box office, becoming one of Scarlett’s biggest films as a lead actress. It’s also been revealed that a sequel is currently in development, but just how much was Scarlett paid for the first movie and when can fans expect a second installment? Here’s the lowdown.

How Much Was Scarlett Johansson Paid For ‘Lucy’?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Scarlett made an impressive $14 million for Lucy — which is right in the ballpark of her usual salary demands, though it remains unclear whether she also signed a backend deal which would’ve earned her an additional amount for box office sales.

Considering the movie was a huge hit around the world, Scarlett could’ve easily negotiated a deal of that sort — particularly since she is the lead star and is more or less carrying the entire narrative.

Not only was Lucy a commercial hit, but it also received a lot of raving reviews, with critics praising Scarlett for her portrayal of a character who comes to terms with her superhuman powers after being abducted by a gang who force her to carry a bag of drugs in her abdomen.

The bag bursts, giving Lucy “access to the 90 percent of her brain that most of us never use, making her superhuman,” as explained by Wired.

During an interview with Vulture, the blonde beauty explained what had attracted her to the role, to begin with, stressing that while she’s no stranger to working on action films, upon discussing the role with director Luc Besson, she was convinced she’d do a good job.

“When I first met Luc, I was doing a Tennessee Williams play that was visceral and raw and this project seemed so abstract,” she gushed.

“It was challenging in a different way because the character is in this constant state of transition and struggles to hold onto the nuances of herself and her life that make her who she is — that makes her human, in her mind. In comparison to the work that I was doing when we met, it seemed like a totally different challenge. It just fit. I didn’t even know how to do it; I just felt I could.”

While Mark Shmuger, the CEO of Luc’s EuropaCorp production company, confirmed that a sequel was, indeed, in the works, the famed director later shut those claims down by insisting there were no current plans to move ahead with a follow-up to the 2014 smash hit.

Some fans believe that Luc is simply being secretive about a potential second installment being in the works, especially since the CEO of his production company already admitted that a follow-up was being worked on — but then again, these things can change overnight in the movie industry.

Angelina Jolie was supposed to star in Gravity before she backed out of the project and left casting directors to get Sandra Bullock to helm the role instead. You can never really be sure until an official announcement has been made, and since Luc says he’s not currently working on a sequel, perhaps it’s best to simply take his word — for now.

Scarlett has a $165 million net worth. In 2018, after amassing $40 million in one year, she was named the highest-paid actress in the world. She’s also believed to make $15 million from the upcoming Black Widow and has made close to $75 million all thanks to Marvel.

The BAFTA award-winning superstar earned her highest salary when she was cast in 2017’s Ghost in the Shell, which made Scarlett an eye-watering $17.5 million, and that sum was before any backend profits were added to the mix.

Her real estate portfolio is believed to be worth around $20 million, with homes in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles and New York.

It’s fair to say that though she only has one movie left with Marvel, Scarlett has become a sought-after actress who has proven herself to make some serious bucks in every movie she tends to make an appearance in.