Nicholas Hoult is highest-paid ‘Superman’ actor

James Gunn’s Superman is raking in the box office. But it’s not David Corenswet who made more money among the cast despite being the lead.

According to Puck, Nicholas Hoult received the highest salary of the three principal characters, $2 million, to play the iconic DC Comics supervillain Lex Luthor. He earned twice as much as Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, who played Superman and Lois Lane, who each earned $750,000.

Hoult’s higher salary may be attributed to his record of films in the comic book genre, having played Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast in four X-Men movies for 20th Century Fox.

This is a mirror of what happened to Christopher Reeve, who portrayed the Man of Steel in four films back in the 70s. The American actor received a $250,000 paycheck, an amount significantly lower than that of his co-star Gene Hackman, who, like Hoult, played the nemesis Lex Luthor, earned $2 million.

But the true winner of the 1978 film was Marlon Brando. Despite his 10-minute screen time as Jor-El, Clark Kent’s father, Brando was paid $3.7 million. He also was given 11.75 percent of the film’s box office gross, Variety confirms.

Superman is DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen. In this film by Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Scooby Doo), Superman’s actions are questioned, with tech billionaire Lex Luthor wanting him totally out of the picture. He is set to prove himself as the protector alongside Lois Lane and the Justice Gang, a group of metahumans lead by Guy Gardner, Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl.