Summary
- Denzel Washington made $60 million for his role as Robert McCall in The Equalizer franchise, earning $20 million for each of the three movies.
- While Washington’s salary remained consistent throughout the franchise, he may also receive backend participation, potentially earning an additional $19 million if The Equalizer 3 hits a box office gross of $190 million.
- With a net worth of $280 million, Washington has earned substantial paychecks throughout his career, including $40 million for American Gangster, and he also invests in real estate, owning properties worth millions in Beverly Hills and Century City.
Denzel Washington is back for the third time as Robert McCall in The Equalizer 3, but how much did it cost to convince Washington to return? The Equalizer franchise focuses on Robert McCall, a former U.S. Marine who is pulled back into his violent life when he protects a teenage sex worker from the Russian mafia in the 2014 movie. The Equalizer 2 sees the retired marine out for revenge after the murder of his friend. Now, The Equalizer 3 sees the deadly assassin taking on the Italian mafia in Southern Italy, and it’s full of the most creative and over-the-top fight scenes and kills yet.
Being a powerful dramatic actor, Washington has never typically been seen as an action hero, but The Equalizer 3 cements him as one of the best. The Equalizer franchise is the first time in the actor’s storied career that he has ever returned for a sequel, never mind the threequel. With that in mind, it must have taken a lot of convincing on Sony’s part to get Washington to reprise the role of McCall. The Equalizer cost $70 million to make, and though the bulk of it was clearly spent on locations and action sequences, how much of that budget went to Washington?
Denzel Washington Made $60 Million For The Equalizer Movies
Denzel Washington has made a total of $60 million for being the face of the Equalizer franchise. The actor made $20 million for 2014’s The Equalizer and $20 million for The Equalizer 2 (via Parade). Continuing the salary consistency, Washington also made $20 million for The Equalizer 3 (via Insider). However, it comes as a surprise that Washington hasn’t had a pay bump with each movie given how successful the series has been. Here is a breakdown of how much Washington was paid for each Equalizer film:
- The Equalizer – $20 Million
- The Equalizer 2 – $20 Million
- The Equalizer 3 – $20 Million
Nevertheless, Insider reported that Washington may get backend participation too. That means that the actor could get a percentage of the movie’s box office gross, which has become common practice and is often how actors make most of their money for a movie. Will Smith consistently gets 10-20% of his movies’ profits, and Tom Cruise was willing to take a relatively lower upfront salary of $12.5 million for Top Gun: Maverick in return for 10% of the box office gross (that’s how Cruise earned $100 million for Top Gun 2).
It isn’t clear how much Denzel Washington’s backend points are for The Equalizer 3, if any, but given that he’s the face of the franchise, the actor might be looking at 10% too. The Equalizer franchise is weirdly consistent when it comes to box office grosses, as the first two films made almost exactly $190 million (via The Numbers). Assuming that The Equalizer 3 hits that number too, Washington could be looking at an extra $19 million and a total of $39 million for his role as Robert McCall in the threequel.
What Denzel Washington’s Current Net Worth Is
Denzel Washington is worth $280 million (via Celebrity Net Worth). The actor quickly started getting huge paychecks in the 1990s, making $7.5 million for the sci-fi movie Virtuosity. Washington earned a huge $12 million for his role in Training Day, but his biggest payday to date is 2007’s American Gangster, which earned him $40 million. Along with earning enormous salaries, the actor invests in real estate too. Washington’s custom-built mansion in Beverly Park in Beverly Hills is 30,000 square feet and is worth around $87 million. Along with the mansion, Denzel Washington also owns an $11 million condo in Century City, California.