When the world is on your shoulders and you’re sinking fast, sometimes it takes a good friend to throw you a lifeline! Well, Hollywood isn’t exactly known for its sense of justice, especially when it comes to paychecks. “Money makes the world go round,” they say, but it’s easy to forget that sometimes, it’s not just the money—it’s who gets to hold the wheel. Let’s enter the world of Jurassic World, where the dinosaurs roared, the box office soared, and, for a while, so did some very big pay disparities. Amidst all the CGI beasts and wild action sequences, there was an equally wild story behind the scenes that had everything to do with Hollywood’s gender pay gap.
We all remember the 2015 juggernaut, Jurassic World. It was a mammoth-sized success, breaking records, bringing in a staggering $1.6 billion worldwide, and cementing Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as the faces of the Jurassic legacy. But while audiences were feasting on popcorn and CGI dinosaurs, Howard was feasting on something else: a paycheck that, quite frankly, could’ve used a little more bite. It’s hard to believe, but the actress, despite being a central figure in the series, wasn’t exactly treated as such when it came to her earnings.
Here’s where things start to get a little Jurassic-sized themselves. While Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) brought in massive revenue and had both Chris Pratt (Owen Grady) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing) standing shoulder to shoulder in the spotlight, there was a pretty gnarly pay disparity lurking behind the scenes. We learned from Variety that Howard was paid $8 million for her role in Fallen Kingdom, while Pratt took home $10 million. On the surface, that may seem like a reasonable difference. After all, Pratt was a certified star by then, the Guardians of the Galaxy hero, and an all-around funny guy. But there’s a bit more to the story than just a couple of bucks.
It turns out that Howard’s pay was locked in as part of a deal she made in 2014, before Jurassic World even hit theaters. Back then, the Hollywood world looked much different, especially when it came to negotiations for female actors. Howard was at a disadvantage, working in an industry that hadn’t quite yet caught up with the notion of equal pay for equal work. She was locked into a multi-film deal with a salary that, honestly, didn’t match her star power. As she herself put it in an Insider interview, the discrepancy was “so much less than the reports even said, so much less.”
The actress continues: “When I started negotiating for ‘Jurassic,’ it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies, and so your deals are set.” So here we have a powerhouse actress, fully capable of leading a Jurassic franchise, essentially sidelined when it came to pay. It’s not a one-off tale—this has been dinosaur-sized in Hollywood for decades.
Yet, what makes this story interesting is not just the injustice of it all, but how the tides eventually turned. While some might imagine that Bryce Dallas Howard could’ve been left to fend for herself in the shadows, there was a beacon of hope in the form of her co-star, Chris Pratt. Now, we all know the latter as the action-packed, lovable star. In an eye-opening moment of solidarity, Pratt stepped up when Howard was in the dark. He wasn’t just concerned about his own paycheck. No, he made sure that when it came to side projects—like games, theme park rides, and ancillary revenue for the franchise—both he and Howard would be on equal footing.
As Howard recalled (via Insider): “What I will say is that Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn’t been already negotiated, like a game or a ride, he literally told me: ‘You guys don’t even have to do anything. I’m gonna do all the negotiating. We’re gonna be paid the same, and you don’t have to think about this, Bryce.’ And I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.” Now, that’s a true pal move.
Yet that doesn’t overshadow the fact that it took Pratt—another man in Hollywood—to get the “needle” moving for a woman to be paid what she deserved. So, what does all this mean? On one hand, it’s heartwarming that Chris Pratt stepped in to correct the scales a bit. After all, it’s crucial for those with power—especially men in the industry—to amplify the voices of their female colleagues.
But on the other hand, it’s pretty disheartening that it had to take a male actor to push for equal pay in the first place. Unfortunately, this pattern is consistent among female actresses. Just ask Jennifer Lawrence, who went public about the pay disparity between her and her male co-stars after the 2014 Sony hack. In a Lenny Letter essay, she reflected on why she didn’t push harder for a fair deal (via People): “I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight.”
Later, in 2021, Lawrence was once again shedding light on the issue when she realized she made $5 million less than her Don’t Look Up co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio. While she expressed understanding about the differences in their box office draw, the actress still pointed out the discomfort of even questioning salary discrepancies, saying (via Vanity Fair): “If you do question something that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not gender disparity but they can’t tell you what exactly it is.”
Then there’s Julianna Margulies, who also took a bold step in standing up for her worth. When CBS allegedly wouldn’t meet her pay demands for the Good Wife spinoff The Good Fight, she walked away from the project. Margulies wasn’t just standing up for herself—she was standing up for the idea that women should be paid what they’re worth, no more, no less. “If you are worthless, if you are not valued for your work, then what’s the point?” she said (via Deadline). No truer words have been spoken in a business that often prizes men’s contributions above women’s.
And let’s not forget Madam C.J. star Octavia Spencer, who has spoken out multiple times about the wage gap. She understands that allies are essential in this fight (via IndieWire): “We need all our male counterparts to be in the fight with us,” she said, reinforcing the notion that equality isn’t just a women’s issue; it’s a human issue.
The wage gap may be a stubborn problem that’s here to stay for now, but as these women continue to break down barriers and raise their voices, it’s clear that change is in the air. Equal pay isn’t just about money—it’s about showing women the respect they’ve earned through their talent, dedication, and hard work. Until equal pay becomes the rule rather than the exception, these actresses will keep leading the charge, turning their personal battles into a movement that lifts women everywhere. Jurassic World is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
