Zoe Saldaña Surpasses Hollywood Legends to Become Highest-Grossing Actor in History
Scarlett Johansson’s reign at the top of the global box office is over as a new star clinches the crown.
Well, this isn’t really news if you’ve been paying any attention to box office stats, but Zoe Saldaña is officially running laps around pretty much everyone else in the 'highest-grossing actor of all time' race. Thanks to her latest mega-hit, Avatar: Fire and Ash, she’s now perched right at the top of the pile — and to be honest, it’s hard to imagine who could realistically knock her off.
If you had 'Zoe Saldaña' as the answer to 'Who’s the face behind the world’s biggest movie franchises?', congrats. She’s Gamora in the MCU, Neytiri in the never-ending Avatar franchise, and the new-school Uhura in Star Trek. As for competition, she’s now edged out Scarlett Johansson (for now) and is comfortably ahead of Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Pratt — they fill out spots three, four, and five on the chart, respectively.
Box Office Numbers That Make Everyone Else Jealous
- Saldaña’s movies have now grossed $15.4 billion (with a 'b') worldwide.
- She became the first actor ever to have four separate movies break the $1 billion mark globally, which is absolutely wild when you think about it.
- Her film debut was way back in the early 2000s, and she hasn’t really had a missed step. The list includes:
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (very small part, but it counts)
- All three Avatar movies (so far)
- Five MCU movies — so that’s the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy plus Infinity War and Endgame
- The three Star Trek reboots
- Oh yeah, plus she won an Oscar last year for Emilia Pérez — Best Supporting Actress, which is a first for her and not something people expected from a musical with her in it.
What’s Next? (It’s Not Clear, Honestly)
Right now, Saldaña is all over TV screens thanks to her starring gig in Paramount+'s Lioness. On the film side, things are a little... less certain. James Cameron hasn’t actually confirmed if there will be an Avatar 4, so everyone’s just guessing.
The latest from Cameron on that front:
'I don't know if the saga goes beyond this point. I hope it does. I'm not going to rule it out. I mean, I've got to make it in a vigorous way, to handle the kind of volume and energy of the work for another six or seven years. You know what I mean? I might not be able to do that.'
So, the short version is: Avatar 4 is technically on the calendar for December 21, 2029, but there’s no guarantee anything past that will actually happen — and there are already rumblings about a new narrator for the next one. Classic Cameron, just keeping everybody guessing.
If you want more on Fire and Ash, yes, it’s still in theaters, and there are already more guides and breakdowns out there than you could ever need. Apparently, people can’t wait to know what happens after the credits roll. (Spoiler: given there’s talk of more sequels, don’t write anything off just yet.)