Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
Tom Holland stands to make over $100 million for starring in Sony and Marvel’s global hit “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” a massive haul that puts him in the rare category of Hollywood’s top-earning actors and already comes on top of a payday from his other 2026 global hit, “The Odyssey.”
According to three individuals with knowledge of Holland’s deal, the actor scored a base salary of at least $20 million up front — an increase of $10 million from his last Spider-Man gig — with the potential to earn upwards of $100 million when backend bonuses are factored in as “Brand New Day” zooms towards a final global box office haul of over $2 billion.
Even more remarkable: Holland’s backend bonus is not capped, so there’s no ceiling to how much he may ultimately make, one individual added. “Spider-Man” crossed $2 billion at the global box office this weekend, and is only in its third week of release.
“He will make at least” $100 million, said this individual, who declined to say how high that payday might soar.
A representative for Sony Pictures said the studio does not comment on cast salaries. Representatives for Holland did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
That’s a tremendous payday for the 30-year-old Holland, who earned just $250,000 for his first outing as Spider-Man in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War” and subsequently established himself as a fan-favorite Peter Parker through standalone Spidey pics and MCU crossovers.
The lucrative backend deal is commensurate with Holland’s spectacular track record over the last decade. With seven appearances in total, his MCU version of Peter Parker has lasted longer than any other cinematic incarnation of the character and, in doing so, left a legacy that is not just unique among Spider-Men but among Marvel’s stable of beloved performers as well. Notably, his appeal has endured even as enthusiasm for superhero films has taken a sharp downturn.
Holland earned $500,000 to star in 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Sony’s proper reboot of the franchise. For 2019’s sequel “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Holland earned $4 million and for 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Holland banked $10 million.
But bringing Holland back for “Brand New Day,” which was a new deal after his previous Spider-Man contract expired with “No Way Home,” required a significant pay raise.
Holland’s WME agents Andrew Dunlap, James Farrell and Liam Buckley and lawyer Robert Offer negotiated the deal.
Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” exploded to a $932 million global box office opening weekend, broke the record for the biggest domestic opening of all time with $360 million and blasted past $1 billion worldwide in mere days. Its total now stands at over $2 billion worldwide and counting.
The film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, earned the best reviews for a Marvel movie in years, and Holland has spoken at length about wanting to push the franchise into more mature, personal territory with this fourth film. The evolution paid off — literally.
When he first landed the Spider-Man role, Holland’s original contract with Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios was a six-picture deal, which included three standalone “Spider-Man” movies produced and distributed by Sony and several appearances in Disney-released Marvel Studios movies.
“Brand New Day” is not the first time Holland has participated in backend bonuses. In fact, in recounting how he mistakenly received a check meant for Tom Holland for “Avengers: Infinity War,” actor Tom Hollander revealed on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” in 2024 just how big those Marvel bonuses can be.
“It was an astonishing amount of money. It was not his salary. It was his first box office bonus. Not the whole of it, the first one. And it was more money than I’ve ever — it was a seven-figure sum,” Hollander said.
The new Marvel lynchpin
Holland’s pay raise makes him one of Marvel’s highest-paid actors and is in line with the trajectory that Robert Downey Jr. followed when he starred in the first MCU film “Iron Man,” which became a lynchpin for the entire franchise. After earning $500,000 for the first movie, Downey Jr. received a $10 million base salary and a handsome backend deal on “Iron Man 3,” which netted him $50 million for the 2013 sequel when all was said and done.
When Marvel worked out Downey Jr.’s contract that would conclude his character arc in “Avengers: Endgame,” the actor’s reps negotiated a massive deal that included $10 million for less than 10 minutes of screentime in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and a backend structure that netted him over $100 million for “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
Of Holland, one top media mogul mused: “He’s the new Robert Downey Jr.”
Scarlett Johansson is another MCU vet who followed a similar trajectory. She earned $400,000 for her first appearance as the Black Widow in 2010’s “Iron Man 2.” Two years later, in 2012’s “The Avengers,” she banked between $4-$6 million.
Following her six appearances in the MCU as Black Widow, the actress got $15 million upfront for 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” For 2021’s standalone “Black Widow” movie, Johansson received $20 million upfront for starring and becoming the first Avenger to become an executive producer on a Marvel film. However, she sued Disney for simultaneously releasing the movie in theaters and on Disney+, which affected her backend bonuses, and settled for $40 million.
Similarly, Chris Hemsworth scored a reported $20 million payday for 2022’s “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
While Holland, Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Sony’s Tom Rothman have all expressed enthusiasm about continuing the actor’s Spider-Man journey beyond “Brand New Day,” it’s unclear whether further films are contracted or if another movie would offer a new opportunity for Holland to renegotiate after his latest record-shattering success.
