Guess Who Zoe Saldaña Just Beat to Become the Highest-Grossing Actor of All Time

Zoe Saldaña is now the highest-grossing actor of all time, thanks in large part to the massive box office success of James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the latest installment in the Avatar franchise.

Who She Beat

The Afro-Latina star, according to Variety, has surpassed previous leaders Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, as her involvement in films has pushed her to the top of all-time box office rankings.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” pulled in $21.3 million domestically in a recent week and has now reached $1.23 billion globally, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The movie’s box office surge has boosted Saldaña’s career total to $15.47 billion in worldwide box office revenue, according to box office tracker The Numbers. Before this, she ranked No. 3 behind Johansson and Jackson.

All three have worked together in the same shared universe: the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Saldaña plays Gamora in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy and the Avengers films — both the Avatar and MCU franchises are Disney properties.

Outside of Disney, Saldaña has starred in the Star Trek reboot trilogy, which grossed more than $1 billion combined.

She is also the first actress, and the only actor, to be featured in four films that each crossed the $2 billion mark worldwide, including “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), according to Variety.

Her success on screen is not just measured in box office numbers; it has also earned her critical recognition.

She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her powerful performance in “Emilia Pérez”, marking her first Oscar win. Saldaña is the first Dominican-American actor to claim an Academy Award.

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, and raised in Queens, New York, Saldaña is of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage. Her net worth is estimated by The Street to be between $60 million and $80 million.

Since surpassing Johansson and Jackson in career box office totals, largely thanks to starring roles in blockbusters like “Avatar” (2009), “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), and “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022), Saldaña is poised to continue her reign as the top box office draw. She will reprise her role as Neytiri, the fierce Na’vi warrior, in Cameron’s “Avatar 4” (2029) and “Avatar 5” (2031).