Highlights
- Emma Watson earned $15 million for her role in Beauty and the Beast, with a base salary of $3 million and the rest coming from bonuses based on the film's success.
- Emma Watson has a net worth of $85 million, largely derived from her role in the Harry Potter franchise and brand deals.
- Disney is known for being reluctant to pay big salaries to its talent, preferring to prioritize the popularity of its intellectual property rather than relying on star power.
Emma Watson took home $15 million for her role in Beauty and the Beast. It was reported her base salary for playing Belle in the 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast was $3 million, and the other $12 million pay Emma Watson received came from bonuses based on the film's immense box office success.
This profitable role in the Disney remake helped Emma Watson tie with Charlize Theron as the sixth-highest-earning woman in cinema in 2017.
The Bill Condon-directed Beauty and the Beast grossed $504 million in the United States and Canada and made $764.5 million internationally, according to The Numbers. This led to it crossing the billion-dollar mark and made it one of the highest-grossing remakes of all time, with a worldwide box office earning of $1.3 billion.
What Is Emma Watson's Net Worth?
Emma Watson has had a hugely successful career, and her total net worth is said to be $85 million. Emma made a reported $70 million from the Harry Potter franchise, including appearing in the role of Hermione Granger and using her likeness for merchandise. While it's unknown what she made per Harry Potter movie, it was reported she earned $30 million for both Deathly Hallows movies.
It has also been reported that Emma Watson makes about $5 million to $10 million per year just from brand deals. Over her years in the spotlight, Emma has been the face of Burberry (she earned a six-figure paycheck for the English fashion brand's 2009 campaign), and she was also the face of Lancôme and has recently been the face of Prada.
Emma was only 11 when she was scouted to play Hermione, and she didn't realize her net worth until she turned 18, when her father had a "money talk with her."
“I had no idea. I felt sick and very emotional,” she revealed on finding out she was a teenage millionaire. Watson revealed she took a course at Coutts Bank to learn more about how to manage her money.
Emma Watson has never been one to splash her money on luxury items. She is a self-confessed nomad and has not one fixed address, although she mainly splits her time between New York and London.
She’s spent some of her huge net worth on her education – she graduated with a degree in English literature from Brown University and qualified as a yoga teacher – as well as on donations to charities and causes she supports. It is reported she donated around $1.4 million to support victims of sexual abuse.
“I got myself a laptop. I took my dad to Tuscany. He works so hard, my dad, so I rang up his secretary and asked when he was free, and I booked us a holiday. What else? Oh, I got myself a car,” the Little Women star told Interview in 2009. “I love the Prius, even if my friends say it’s ugly. They say I drive a brick. And, to be fair, it’s not the prettiest car on the road, but it’s good for the environment. It’s sensible and boring – like me.”
Emma Watson Speaks Out About Hollywood's Wage Gap
Emma Watson has always spoken up on women's issues including the wage gap in Hollywood. “We are not supposed to talk about money because people will think you’re ‘difficult’ or a ‘diva,’” she said in a 2016 interview with Esquire U.K. “But there’s a willingness now to be like, ‘Fine, call me a diva, call me a feminazi, call me difficult, call me a First World Feminist, call me whatever you want.’ It’s not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing.”
The Bling Ring star added, "Whether you are a woman on a tea plantation in Kenya, or a stockbroker on Wall Street, or a Hollywood actress, no one is being paid equally."
Harry Potter producer David Heyman revealed that Watson was harder to negotiate with when it came to contracts than her co-stars, although the actress is not motivated by money. "So each time there was a negotiation, it was not about a financial [matter], it really was about, ‘Do I want to be a part of this?’ We had to be sensitive to her needs and how important school was to her."
"And you have to listen. In our position, you’re not dictating, you’re listening. At the same time, it’s a tipping point, and it’s working within a framework. I deeply respected her, encouraged her," he explained. "She’s very smart, always was, and fiercely intelligent.”
What Disney Pays Its Modern Princesses
In recent years, Disney has come under fire for not wanting to pay their talent. Disney believes that only big Hollywood stars should be paid the big money, which may be why Emma Watson's salary was based on the box office. “The IP is the star of the movie,” said a producer to The Hollywood Reporter. “If you hired Jennifer Lawrence as Belle, would it really make a difference in the opening [of Beauty and the Beast]? Unlikely.”
It was also reported that Beauty and the Beast star Dan Stevens, who plays the Beast, was refused a rental car upgrade in order to accommodate his two children.
It was later claimed that Disney refused to pay for an upgraded flight for Cinderella actress Lily James’ mother during the promo tour for the movie. “They are cheap with everyone,” said a lawyer whose client appears in a Disney movie.
Angelina Jolie was one of the few live-action stars Disney was willing to pay the big bucks to have in their movie. The studio paid her $20 million upfront, plus more in profit participation for appearing as the title character in Maleficent. "If it's the right vehicle for the right star, they can be great. But Disney also has the luxury to not have to put a star in there," explained an unnamed agent.
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