Zoe Saldaña has officially become the highest-grossing movie star of all time, overtaking Scarlett Johansson following the continued global success of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. Updated box office figures released on January 12 confirm the historic shift at the top of Hollywood’s all-time earnings list.
The milestone comes after the strong worldwide performance of Avatar: Fire and Ash, which has grossed $1.23 billion globally. The film pushed Saldaña’s cumulative career box office total to an estimated $16.8 billion, according to industry tracking site The Numbers. Johansson, who previously held the record, now ranks second with a reported total of $16.4 billion.
At 47, Saldaña has built her box office dominance across just 18 major film releases, an unusually efficient run by industry standards. Her résumé includes starring roles in some of the most commercially successful franchises in cinema history, notably the Avatar series, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Her achievement is further distinguished by a rare cinematic feat. Saldaña is the only actor to have appeared in the three highest-grossing films of all time: Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and Avatar: The Way of Water. Each of those films surpassed the $2 billion mark globally, cementing her place at the centre of modern blockbuster filmmaking.
Scarlett Johansson, who had reclaimed the top spot last summer following the release of Jurassic World Rebirth, now sits just behind Saldaña in the rankings. Johansson’s box office success has been largely driven by her portrayal of Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, across multiple films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including several Avengers titles.
The upper tier of the all-time box office list continues to be dominated by actors closely associated with major franchise films, particularly those from Marvel Studios. Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Pratt round out the current top five highest-grossing actors, underscoring the financial power of long-running cinematic universes.
With the Avatar franchise still ongoing and more large-scale projects on the horizon, Saldaña’s lead may continue to grow, further solidifying her status as one of the most commercially successful actors in film history.
