MOVE over Scarlett Johansson — Zoe Saldaña has claimed the crown as the highest-grossing actor in cinema history. Her latest release, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, has surpassed the USD 1 billion mark at the global box office, cementing her position at the very top of the industry.
Saldaña, who portrays Neytiri across all three ‘Avatar’ films since the franchise began in 2009, now holds the record for the highest cumulative box office earnings of any actor. She has starred in three of the highest-grossing films of all time: the first two ‘Avatar’ instalments and ‘Avengers: Endgame’, in which she reprised her ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ role as Gamora.
She is also the first actress to appear in four films that have each crossed the US$2 billion threshold, including ‘Avengers:
Infinity War’, further underscoring her remarkable box office dominance.
Beyond the Avatar and Marvel franchises, Saldaña also played Nyota Uhura in the ‘Star Trek’ trilogy, which collectively earned more than US$1 billion worldwide.
Taken together, her films have generated more than US$15.47 billion at the global box office. This places her ahead of previous record-holders Scarlett Johansson, whose films totalled approximately US$15.41 billion, and Samuel L. Jackson, with around US$14.6 billion — marking a historic milestone in Hollywood box office history.
