Florence Pugh’s Salary for Marvel’s Thunderbolts Is No Small Feat

Actress Florence Pugh is officially among the A-listers of the current era. After proving her mettle as a talented performer in films like Lady Macbeth, Midsommar, and Little Women, Pugh was propelled to the mainstream with 2024’s Dune: Part Two and Black Widow. The actress, however, did continue to pursue more artistic works like We Live In Time.

Pugh will be next seen in the MCU film Thunderbolts*, which will reportedly net her an incredible eight-figure payday. After appearing in Black Widow and Hawkeye, she is set to return to the role of Yelena Belova and will join a host of other characters. Pugh’s growth since her indie days is an inspiring journey.

Florence Pugh has had a tremendous 2024

Florence Pugh in Dune: Part Two | Credits: Warner Bros.

Florence Pugh has been one of those success stories that happens once every decade. Actors like Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Kate Winslet, all had that one movie that became a humungous breakthrough, and for Pugh, it was Lady Macbeth. The film was a huge success at the festival circuits and established her as a talented performer.

Since then, the actress has worked with acclaimed directors and has been a noticeable part of some incredible films. She worked with Greta Gerwig on Little Women and then went on to play a traumatized woman being swept into a cult at a harvest festival in Sweden in Ari Aster’s daylight horror film Midsommar.

For Little Women, the actress was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She then went on to co-star with Scarlett Johansson in the MCU film Black Widow, where she played her sister Yelena Belova. The role was her first blockbuster and despite the controversies surrounding Johansson and Marvel studios, Pugh’s performance was appreciated.

While her romantic drama Don’t Worry Darling did not fare as well as her other films, she bounced back with a prominent role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. She played Jean Tatlock, the love interest of Cillian Murphy’s J Robert Oppenheimer, who is found dead after he cuts off ties with her to go work on the Manhattan Project.

Pugh had a great 2024 too. She started her year as Princess Irulan in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two, which had an ensemble cast of Timothée Chalamet, Austin Butler, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Christopher Walken, Javier Bardem, and more. It was one of the highest-grossing films of the year (via The Numbers).

Her other release of the year was the romantic drama We Live In Time. Starring along with Andrew Garfield, the film sees the duo play a couple who go through their lives as she is diagnosed with cancer. Released in the USA by A24, the film received rave reviews for both of their performances.

Florence Pugh is reportedly set to earn a huge salary for Thunderbolts*

A still from Thunderbolts* | Credits: Marvel Studios

Florence Pugh’s next film will reportedly be the MCU’s upcoming team-up film Thunderbolts*. Initially set to release in 2024, the film was postponed after Marvel Studios decided to slate only Deadpool & Wolverine as the year’s sole release. It seems to have brought the studio back on its toes after having a terrible last few releases.

Pugh’s Yelena is set to join a team of other antiheroes such as Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, Taskmaster, and Ghost on a mission assigned by Valentina de Fontaine. The film also sees Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes return to the franchise after Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This would be the third time Pugh would be seen in the role of Yelena.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pugh is set to receive a humungous salary for just her third film in the MCU. The actress reportedly signed a deal for an eight-figure salary for two films before she joined the franchise in Black Widow. She is also reportedly set to receive top-billing in the call sheet, meaning that Pugh has officially been promoted to A-list status.

This would be a huge step up for the actress as she grew from the indie space. The actress seems to be diversifying her career along the lines of her contemporaries like Robert Pattinson, Austin Butler, and Zendaya. Still, an eight-figure salary in only her second film in the MCU is no mean feat as others on the same level have had to work for quite some time to take home such a huge paycheck.

Florence Pugh will be taking a break from acting in 2025

A still from We Live In Time | Credits: A24/StudioCanal

For the past ten years, Florence Pugh has been working without a break to make it in the industry. Choosing to focus on her career over college, Pugh began her career in the indie space with films like The Falling and Lady Macbeth and is now one of the biggest stars of the generation.

However, after delivering a powerful yet demanding performance in We Live In Time, the actress reportedly hoped to take a break and focus on her life off-screen. She mentioned in an interview with The Times that she had been completely focused on her career for a decade and she realized that she had to also live life in between. She said,

I had to look away from my career, from movies, from wanting to be this kind of actor, that kind of actor. Or how many awards I would love to get before I pass away. That’s been my focus for ten years, but I want to make sure that the things I need to do, whether children, family, change, change in relationships … well, I realized I need to make changes now.

The actress also mentioned that her life changed when she finished filming We Live In Time and that it had brought a lot of her life into perspective.