Zoe Saldaña has officially become the highest-grossing leading actor worldwide, surpassing Scarlett Johansson to grab the top global box office ranking. The milestone is driven by the massive success of James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, which has grossed over $1.23 billion worldwide since its late 2025 release.
According to box office tracking website Numbers, which compiles worldwide data on the top 100 stars in leading roles, Saldaña ranks first with a cumulative global box office collection of USD 15.46 billion from 33 films, averaging nearly USD 469 million per movie.
Her record is bolstered by appearances in some of the biggest blockbusters in cinema history, including "Avatar" (2009), which grossed USD 2.92 billion, "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) with USD 2.71 billion, "Avatar: The Way of Water" (2022) at USD 2.32 billion, "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) with USD 2.04 billion and "Avatar: Fire and Ash" (2025), which has earned over USD 1.23 billion worldwide so far.
Saldaña has starred in the three highest-grossing films of all time—the two "Avatar" films and "Avengers: Endgame"—and is the first actress to feature in four movies that have crossed the USD 2 billion mark globally.
Scarlett Johansson is at number two in the list now with USD 15.40 billion from 36 films, and Samuel L Jackson at number three with USD 14.61 billion from over 70 films. Other stars in the top 10 include Robert Downey Jr., Chris Pratt, Tom Cruise, Chris Hemsworth, Vin Diesel, Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson.
Last year, Johansson rose to the top spot after "Jurassic World Rebirth" amassed USD 869 million worldwide. The actor has also appeared in multiple Marvel films.
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Reacting to the milestone, Saldaña posted a video message on social media on Tuesday evening, thanking filmmakers, collaborators and fans across the world for their support.
“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,” said Saldaña, who won her maiden Oscar for her performance in "Emilia Perez" in 2025.
She praised filmmakers like JJ Abrams, Joe and Anthony Russo and James Gunn for placing their trust in her.
She particularly thanked James Cameron for "believing my potential for seeing something in me that I have not always seen in myself, and for challenging me to always rise to the occasion".
To her fans, Saldaña said their unwavering support, passion and loyalty are the true foundation of this milestone.
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