Shailene Woodley Will Earn A Pretty Measly Paycheck To Star In $85 Million 'Divergent'

Shailene Woodley Divergent

Shailene Woodley is just 22-years-old, but the actress — who earned a Golden Globe nomination playing George Clooney's daughter in 2012's "The Descendants"— is already set to carry the much-hyped, three-part "Divergent" movie franchise.

The film, in theaters March 21st, is based on author Veronica Roth's best-selling trilogy set in a future dystopia where people are split up into five factions. Box office ticket sales are already outpacing the first "Twilight."

Despite the film's reported $85 million production budget, Woodley will earn just $250,000 to $500,000 for the first installment, according to The Hollywood Reporter's sources.

But Woodley will likely make much more for the second and third installments, "Insurgent" and "Allegiant," slated for release in March 2015 and March 2016.

For the first "Hunger Games" film, for example, Jennifer Lawrence reportedly earned $500,000 upfront, plus bonuses based on box office performance.

Lawrence reportedly negotiated a $10 million deal for the second installment "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," made easier by Oscar-nominated performances in "Winter's Bone" and "Silver Linings Playbook." According to THR, "The figure is a combination of salary, bonuses and escalators."

Ironically, it was Lawrence who convinced Woodley to take the "Divergent" role in the first place.

An admitted fan of Woodley's ABC Family Tv series "Secret Life Of An American Teenager," Lawrence e-mailed her — at the urging of Lionsgate studio head Erik Feig — to sell her colleague on the pros of leading a Young Adult franchise.

Woodley told THR the emails from Lawrence went like this: "You must do it. You will not regret it for a second. Yes, there are some hard things, but there are so many beautiful things that will come from an opportunity like this."

And with Feig admitting that Woodley was the "studio's first and only choice" for the role, the young actress will have plenty of bargaining power when it comes to negotiating her contract for the sequels.

But while the first “Hunger Games” opened to a massive $152 million, "Divergent" is on track to rake in a lesser (but still strong) $65 million its opening weekend later this month — right on par with the first "Twilight."

So based on those numbers, things are looking good for Woodley, as "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart earned an unprecedented $25 million against 7.5% of the theatrical gross for the "Breaking Dawn" sequels of "Twilight."

Watch the "Divergent" trailer — also starring Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Theo James, and Zoe Kravitz — below: