Zoe Saldaña Now the Highest-Grossing Actor of All Time

By Ben McKimm - News

Published: 15 Jan 2026

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Table of contents

Table of contents

• How Saldaña Reached The Number One Spot
• What are Zoe Saldaña’s Highest-Grossing Films?
• How Does it Compare to Scarlett Johansson?
• Who is the Highest-Grossing Male Actor?

Readtime: 5 min

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• Zoe Saldaña is now the highest-grossing actor, exceeding $15.46 billion worldwide.
• Avatar: Fire and Ash pushed her past Scarlett Johansson’s career total.
• She is the first actor to feature in four $2 billion blockbusters.
• Her success comes from consistent roles in Avatar, Marvel, and Star Trek.
• Saldaña proves that franchise longevity and consistency drive massive box office results.

Hollywood sure loves a victory lap. The louder, the better. But this one didn’t arrive with a big announcement or a victory speech. It arrived in the same way Saldaña’s career has always progressed. One film at a time, and one franchise after another. Now, the totals speak for themselves. Zoe Saldaña is the highest-grossing actor of all time, overtaking Scarlett Johansson, as Avatar: Fire and Ash pushed her career box office beyond USD$15.46 billion (approx. AUD$23.13 billion).

In a world obsessed with megastars and hype cycles, Saldaña’s rise shows something else entirely. Her career wasn’t built on a single dominant character (Gamora may beg to differ) or a decade of headline vehicles. It was built on consistency. On repeat value. On turning up, again and again, inside the biggest money printing machines Hollywood has ever produced.

Whether you first noticed her in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl or only really clocked her once the franchise era took over, her record-breaking title makes it clear that the modern box office doesn’t just reward visibility, but also people who stick around.

How Saldaña Reached The Number One Spot

Avatar: Fire and Ash added more than USD$1.2 billion to Zoe Saldaña’s career total on its own. That single release was enough to push her past Scarlett Johansson and lock in the top spot. It also explains why this record arrived so suddenly.

That said, Fire and Ash isn’t doing anything unusual for Avatar. Sure, it’s tracking behind the first two films in terms of box office numbers, but it’s still held the domestic No. 1 spot since its release in December 2025 and has comfortably cleared the billion-dollar mark. When a franchise operates at that scale, even a “smaller” entry shifts careers in a big way. Saldaña has been part of the Avatar world since day one, and three films in, that consistency continues to pay off.

When you add in Saldaña’s Marvel run as Gamora across the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and the Avengers films, and you’re looking at a career built less on spikes and more on accumulation. It’s what happens when you’re a part of the biggest franchises in cinema for long enough. The dollars add up.

What are Zoe Saldaña’s Highest-Grossing Films?

Once you lay out the films Saldaña has been part of, the headline sounds less surprising and far more earned.

Very few actors can claim to have been part of two $2 billion blockbuster films. But Saldaña can. And that’s why she’s sitting at number one.

How Does it Compare to Scarlett Johansson?

Saldaña overtook Scarlett Johansson to take the top spot. However, we’re not examining this from the perspective of pure competition. Rather, it’s a retrospective look at how two very different careers ended up in the same place and still outdid the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Pratt.

Johansson’s career is clearly the more visible of the two. More star vehicles. More films where she’s clearly the face of the release (Lucy included). Saldaña’s career, although less prominent, demonstrates that her presence generates revenue. She may not always be the reason you bought a ticket, but she’s often one of the reasons the film is a runaway success.

Who is the Highest-Grossing Male Actor?

After Saldaña and Johansson, the next names on the list are exactly who you’d expect if you’ve been paying attention to the last 15 years of cinema.

According to The Numbers, the highest-grossing actors that follow include Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Pratt.

If you strip Marvel out entirely, the highest-grossing actors left standing are Tom Cruise, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Tom Hanks. Different genres, different eras, but it’s a lesson in longevity again. They’ve been a part of major franchises, including Riddick, Fast & Furious, DC Comics, and Toy Story. It’s clear as day that franchises bring in a significant amount of money.

Saldaña’s record is a reminder of how modern box office success actually works. Stick around long enough, pick the right projects, and be reliable when it counts.

Do that, and one day you wake up at the top of the list without ever needing a victory lap.