Zoe Saldaña overtakes Scarlett Johansson as highest-grossing movie star after 'Avatar'

Zoe Saldaña has surpassed Scarlett Johansson as the highest-grossing movie star, driven by the 'Avatar' franchise

Zoe Saldaña has overtaken Scarlett Johansson to become the highest-grossing movie star of all time, according to updated box office totals released on January 12. The shift comes following the continued global performance of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise.

The latest instalment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, reached $1.23 billion at the worldwide box office, lifting Saldaña’s cumulative career total to $16.8 billion, according to figures published by industry tracker The Numbers. Johansson now ranks second with a reported total of $16.4 billion.

Saldaña, 47, has built her box office record across 18 major releases, including leading roles in the Avatar films, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

She is the only actor to have appeared in the three highest-grossing films of all time: Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water.

Johansson, who previously held the top position, rose to first place last summer following the release of Jurassic World Rebirth.

Much of her box office success is attributed to her portrayal of Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, across multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

The top rankings remain dominated by actors associated with large franchise films, particularly Marvel productions. Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Pratt complete the current top five highest-grossing actors.