Jennifer Lawrence will make more money than Chris Pratt in their new movie. That's huge.
Get it, Jennifer.
Remember back in the olden days when we thought women in the workplace were less valuable than men?
LOL.
Oh wait...
Women are still getting paid less than men. Even today.
About 22 cents less for every dollar to be precise. For the most part, the discrepancy exists across all industries that we have adequate data to pull from. That includes Hollywood.
Top-earning stars who are male earn (way, way) more than their female counterparts.
Forbes crunched the numbers back in 2013 after its annual lists of highest paid actors and actresses were released. While it's not particularly surprising that the men out-earned the women (which is sad in and of itself), it is surprising to learn by how much: The men earned nearly 2.5 times more than the women.
Pretty shocking, huh? Probably not to Jennifer Lawrence.
She's experienced the absurdity of pay inequity firsthand.
After hacked Sony emails went public in 2014, the world got a sneak peek into how execs compensated Lawrence in comparison to her co-stars for their roles in "American Hustle." And it wasn't pretty.
Based on those emails, despite her having just won an Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook" and starring in a "Hunger Games" film that set blockbuster records, Lawrence — and co-star Amy Adams — got paid about 23% less than leading men in the movie.
But now we have reason to believe that Hollywood maybe — just maybe! — learned its lesson with Lawrence.
Lawrence's latest paycheck isn't just more on par with her male peer's ... it's on par and then some.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony just gave the go-ahead for production on the sci-fi romantic drama, "Passengers," starring Lawrence and fellow industry heavyweight (and dinosaur-fighting) Chris Pratt.
The film's massive budget will reportedly include $20 million for Lawrence and $12 million for Pratt. Yep, you read that correctly: Lawrence — a woman! — will be making $8 million more than Pratt — a man! — on the film.
We love you, Chris. But this is big news. And it comes during a fantastic time for people who like seeing women on the big screen.
If box office results mean anything, things are getting better for Hollywood's leading ladies.
Have you been following which flicks are reigning supreme this summer? Leading ladies are killing it. I mean, where to begin?
There's "Pitch Perfect 2," which brought in more money during its opening weekend than its predecessor made in total. Then there's "Mad Max: Fury Road," which starred Charlize Theron and incorporated feminist story lines into its action-packed plot.
The animated "Inside Out," championed by Amy Poehler (and featuring a truly winning performance by Phyllis Smith as Sadness), had the biggest opening weekend for a non-franchise movie (ever!), and "Spy," starring Melissa McCarthy, is among the top-grossing domestic films of 2015 thus far.
Speaking of Melissa McCarthy, is anyone else stoked about the new "Ghostbusters"?! She's just one of the film's four — four — female leads. Flicks like "Ghostbusters" don't just break down barriers symbolically — they bring more opportunities (and paychecks) to talented women who deserve the spotlight.
We admit it: Jennifer Lawrence's big payday won't revolutionize the industry by itself...
...but it's one $20-million step in the right direction for gender equality.