Hollywood has a new box office queen. Zoe Saldaña has officially surpassed Scarlett Johansson to become the highest-grossing actor of all time, and fans are celebrating this major milestone. The achievement comes as the latest Avatar instalment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, continues to dominate theatres worldwide, pushing Saldaña’s career total past the previous record held by Johansson.
Saldaña, 47, has quietly built one of the most unstoppable film resumes in cinema history. She’s starred in the three highest-grossing films ever made: Avatar (2009), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and she is the first actor to appear in four separate movies that each grossed more than $2 billion globally.
While Johansson held the top spot for a time thanks to her blockbuster run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the success of Jurassic World Rebirth, Saldaña’s cumulative box office haul, now estimated at more than $15 billion worldwide, has pushed her firmly into first place.
Beyond Avatar and Marvel, Saldaña also had memorable roles in the Star Trek reboot trilogy and even appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, all of which contributed to her sprawling film impact.
Saldaña marked the moment with heartfelt gratitude, thanking her collaborators, directors, and fans who supported her throughout her career. The actress, already an Academy Award winner, now officially holds one of Hollywood’s most significant records, cementing her legacy as one of the most bankable stars in cinema history.
With more Avatar sequels on the horizon, Saldaña’s reign at the top may just be beginning. For fans and film lovers around the world, this milestone is a reminder of her remarkable journey from sci-fi standout to Hollywood royalty.