Whether actors ‘deserve’ their paychecks based on their talent is a conversation that keeps coming up every time a new high-profile movie drops. And Wicked is no exception. The musical is already working its magic at the box office. It pulled off the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, trailing only Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2, all on a jaw-dropping $320 million budget. Naturally, this has sparked some rumors about a pay gap between the leads and how much of that big budget went to Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

Now, Universal Studios has swooped in to clear up all the speculation about the Wicked stars' paychecks.

Following the release of Wicked, a Reddit post spread some rumors about the leading cast's wages. As per the rumor, Ariana Grande was paid $15 million for her role as Glinda, while Cynthia Erivo was paid only $1 million for her role as Elphaba. These rumors were later picked up by news outlets that forced Universal Studios to release a statement. A spokesperson from Universal recently denied the pay disparity claims in a statement to Deadline, calling them “completely false and based on internet fodder.” 

The studio also confirmed that both actresses received “equal pay” for their work. The two-part film had a huge production cost, even after excluding the marketing. Therefore, it would not make sense for the studio to spend that much on the film and then pay one lead actor less than the other. However, this was not the only issue Wicked faced following its release. 

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The musical is also dealing with piracy, which an executive recently compared to the situation with Deadpool & Wolverine.

Right after the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, fans started posting clips from the movie that they had taken in theaters. This spoiled the film for many fans who were still waiting to see it in the theaters. With Wicked, the problem got even worse. The entire four-minute final sequence of the first part, along with several other key scenes, was uploaded to social media after the release.

An anonymous top executive recently told Variety that piracy has been increasing, especially after the release of Deadpool & Wolverine. Though unclear, he seemed to suggest that Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy might have unintentionally encouraged this by interacting with the culprits on social media. Nonetheless, despite these issues, Wicked has been performing strongly at the box office.

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What do you think about Wicked’s wage controversy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!