Following her performance as Neytiri in James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, actress Zoe Saldaña has now become the highest-grossing actor of all time, surpassing previous record holder Scarlett Johansson.
As reported by Variety, Saldaña was already on the Hollywood leaderboard in 2024, with her global box office haul at that point of time being over US$14 billion and ranking her third behind Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. Now, thanks to Avatar: Fire and Ash, which has garnered US$1.23 billion at the global box office to date, she is now leading the charge with a combined US$15.47 billion, according to a chart by the Numbers.
Saldaña’s achievements should come as no surprise, considering how the 47-year-old has appeared in the top three highest-grossing films of all time, 2009’s Avatar, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water. Additionally, with her appearance in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, she also holds the record as the first actress to appear in four movies that have amassed over US$2 billion worldwide.
Following her milestone, Saldaña took to social media to express her gratitude. “I just want to express my sincerest gratitude for the extraordinary journey that has led me to become the highest-grossing film actor of all time today,” she said in a video on her Instagram page. “An achievement made possible entirely, entirely by the incredible franchises and the collaborators that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of, to every director who placed their trust in me.” Saldaña also gave a special shout-out to J.J. Abrams, the Russo brothers, James Gunn, James Cameron, and most importantly, her fans around the world.
This achievement wasn’t the only one Saldaña secured recently, as the star also won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance as Rita Mora Castro in the French musical crime film Emilia Pérez in March 2025. With the star set to appear in the next two films in the Avatar franchise, slated for 2029 and 2031, her box office achievements will no doubt be propelled even higher, securing her place as Hollywood’s superstar for the foreseeable future.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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