Zoe Saldaña sits atop the list of highest-grossing actors with a massive total of $16,859,193,100 at the worldwide box office. See who else is in the top 10.

This actor just dethroned Scarlett Johansson as the highest-grossing movie star at the box office

Zoe Saldaña sits atop the list of highest-grossing actors with a massive total of $16,859,193,100 at the worldwide box office. See who else is in the top 10.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

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January 12, 2026 9:00 p.m. ET

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Scarlett Johansson in 'Jurassic World Rebirth'. Credit:

Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson's reign atop the box office leaderboard is over... for now.

The *Black Widow* star, who previously held the title for highest-grossing actor of all time, has been dethroned by fellow Marvel star Zoe Saldaña, thanks to the latter's starring role in James Cameron's *Avatar* film series.

The latest film in the Pandora-set sci-fi movies, *Avatar: Fire and Ash*, officially crossed $1.23 billion at the worldwide box office as of Jan. 12, which, per The Numbers, firmly cements Saldaña atop the list of highest-grossing movie stars with a massive total of $16,859,193,100 at the worldwide box office.

Johansson, meanwhile, now sits at No. 2 with $16,435,483,784.

Zoe Saldaña attends the global premiere of 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' on Dec. 1, 2025.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The *Avatar* trilogy, in which Saldaña has played the central Na'vi character Neytiri, of course accounts for a massive part of her cume — about $6 billion to be exact. However, her multiple stints with Marvel as Gamora, and her roles in three *Star Trek* movies, as well as 2003's mega hit *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*, certainly don't hurt.

Previously, thanks to her role in *Jurassic World Rebirth*, Johansson catapulted from third place to first last summer, surpassing two of her longtime costars, Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr.

Many of Johansson's highest-grossing titles, meanwhile, come directly from her stint as the MCU's Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, with films including *Avengers: Endgame* ($2.7 billion), *Avengers: Infinity War *($2 billion), *The Avengers (*$1.5 billion), *Avengers: Age of Ultron (*$1.4 billion), *Captain America: Civil War *($1.1 billion), *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* ($714 million), and *Iron Man 2* ($621 million). Her solo spinoff, 2021's *Black Widow*, made only $379 million, with a release dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though of course the actress has also starred in such massive non-MCU titles as *The Jungle Book *($951 million), *Sing *($631 million), and *Lucy *($457 million).

'Jurassic World Rebirth' star Scarlett Johansson is now the highest-grossing lead actor

'Avatar: Fire and Ash' burns through $1 billion at the global box office

In addition to Saldaña, Johansson, Jackson and Downey, Chris Pratt, Tom Cruise, Chris Hemsworth, Vin Diesel, Chris Evans, and Dwayne Johnson round out the top 10.

Saldaña has reason to feel good about keeping her box office crown, too. Cameron has a planned fourth and fifth *Avatar* film yet to be released. And of course the Oscar winner has a number of other projects in various stages of development.

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