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Word on the street is that movie studio bosses are willing to stump up the big bucks to get Scarlett Johansson to re-sign for 'The Avengers' sequel as the Black Widow. And that stumping up reportedly amounts to a cool $20 million for the one film -- which would make ScarJo the highest paid movie actress ever.

In the highest paid actresses context, K-Stew made three films in the past year to give her the crown at $34.5 million. Cameron Diaz, who came in second place, made three films to earn $34 million.

Before Scarlett's big pay day, Angelina Jolie brought home 'The Tourist' bacon to the tune of a reported $19 million in the 2010 critically panned flick, making her the highest paid movie actress -- until now. In spite of its critical reception 'The Tourist' actually ended up raking in $278 million at the global box office.

'The Avengers' brought in over $1.355 billion at the global box office this year making it the third biggest box office draw in history (behind James Cameron's 'Avatar' and 'Titanic').

Given Johansson is the only female lead in the film, studio bosses are reportedly keen to secure her for the sequel as it's thought she's a key ingredient to the film's success in terms of both story and sex appeal.