Zoe Saldaña has become the highest-grossing actor of all time at the global box office, overtaking Scarlett Johansson, according to data from The Numbers. The milestone has been achieved largely due to Saldaña’s involvement in some of the biggest film franchises in cinema history, including “Avatar”, Marvel Studios films, “Star Trek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
Saldaña’s box office total has been driven primarily by her roles as Neytiri in James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise and Gamora in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy and multiple “Avengers” films. She has also appeared in commercially successful projects such as the “Star Trek” reboot series and the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” film.
Johansson had previously claimed the top position last year after “Jurassic World Rebirth” grossed $869 million worldwide. Her ranking was bolstered by her long-running role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Saldaña’s latest release, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, has performed more modestly compared to earlier films in the franchise but has remained at the domestic box office No 1 spot since its release in December. She also lent her voice to Pixar’s animated adventure “Elio” last summer, though the film underperformed commercially.
Beyond box office success, 2025 proved to be a landmark year for Saldaña critically. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Netflix’s crime musical “Emilia Pérez”. She is currently working on the upcoming season of the action-drama television series “Lioness”.
While director James Cameron has outlined plans for two more “Avatar” films, official confirmation for the fourth and fifth installments has yet to be announced. Speaking last month, Cameron said, “If we don’t get to make 4 and 5, for whatever reason, I’ll hold a press conference and I’ll tell you what we were gonna do.”
After Saldaña and Johansson, the highest-ranked female actors on the list are Emma Watson at No 16, Karen Gillan at No 23 and Elizabeth Olsen at No 25.