Colin Jost reacts as wife Scarlett Johansson loses highest-grossing Hollywood actor title

Colin Jost has reacted with humour after his wife Scarlett Johansson lost her position as the highest-grossing actor in Hollywood history, with the moment becoming the latest punchline on Saturday Night Live.

During the January 17 episode of the show’s Weekend Update segment, Jost delivered the news himself while reading from the cue cards. “Zoe Saldaña—who stars in the new Avatar movie—has surpassed Scarlett Johansson to become the highest-grossing actress of all time,” he said, as a bar graph comparing the two actresses appeared on screen.

The joke then turned squarely on Jost. “Okay, well let’s see what happens if you include the box office from Scarlett’s husband’s movies,” he continued. Accompanied by a comic sound effect, Johansson’s total dropped from $15.4 billion to $15.1 billion, prompting Jost to laugh in disbelief before exclaiming, “It went down?!”

Johansson, who previously held the record for highest-grossing actor of all time, has now been overtaken by Saldaña following the success of Avatar: Fire and Ash, alongside the previous films in James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. Saldaña’s films have earned $16,946,884,15 worldwide, while Johansson’s total stands at $16,435,483,784.

Both actresses owe a significant portion of their box office success to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Saldaña appeared in five Marvel films as Gamora, while Johansson starred in nine as Natasha Romanoff. Saldaña has also featured prominently in the Avatar and Star Trek franchises.

Outside Marvel, Johansson has enjoyed box office success with films including Jurassic World Rebirth, The Jungle Book, Sing and Lucy.

Jost’s own box office total is more modest. According to The Numbers, his films have earned $488,489,123, including Tom & Jerry, Coming 2 America, Fly Me to the Moon and The Bad Guys 2. The segment marked another example of SNL turning a Hollywood milestone into self-deprecating comedy at the anchor’s expense.