Updated on 1/16/2025 at 7:oop.m.ET: Actress Zoe Saldaña is speaking out following the news that she’s now the highest grossing actor of all time.
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Posting in a video to Instagram, the “Lioness” star began by expressing her “sincerest gratitude for the extraordinary journey” that brought her to this moment. She credited the accolade to the franchises, directors and collaborators that played a role in getting her to where she is now.
“To every director who placed their trust in me, thank you,” she said in part while mentioning the Russo brothers and James Cameron.
She then took the time to thank the fans
“And to the fans around the world, thank you. Thank you! Your unwavering support, passion, and loyalty are the true foundation of this milestone. None of this exists without you showing up time and time again with open hearts and enthusiasm,” she said. “This accomplishment belongs to all of us and I’m deeply grateful and profoundly humbled and may the next record breaker be another woman!”
See original story below.
When you think of super successful movie stars, a lot of names will more than likely come to mind. But now, there’s only one name that belongs in the number one spot: Zoe Saldaña.
Yes, “Colombiana” Zoe Saldaña. “Guardians of the Galaxy” Zoe Saldaña. “Emilia Pérez” Zoe Saldaña. And “Nina” Zoe Saldaña (even though we all like to pretend that this 2016 film didn’t happen, it did. But we digress). Yes, the same Zoe Saldaña who brought you all those aforementioned movies and more now holds the title of the highest-grossing actor of all time.
Per the LA Times, she’s finally kicked her fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe costar Scarlett Johansson from the top spot and is sitting there comfortably. And it’s all thanks to four movies that made a major impact on the box office and ultimately her bank account.
As you well know by now, the the third iteration of the wildly popular “Avatar” franchise—”Avatar: Fire and Ash”–was released just before Christmas Day in 2025. As of this article’s writing, the film brought in a global total of $1.23 billion with $21.3 million of that coming from the North American market alone.
As you might expect, the other two movies responsible for her massive success are the original “Avatar” and its sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which were released in 2009 and 2022 respectively. For their part in the box office, the first film raked in $2.9 billion globally while the second iteration brought in $2.3 billion.
The fourth film that played a big part in bringing Saldaña her coins was 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” which saw success to the tune of $2.8 billion at the global box office. With these films in mind and if you take “Avengers: Infinity War” into consideration (which brought in $2.05 billion), this makes the “Lioness” actress the only actor to star in four movies that brought in over $2 billion worldwide. Collectively, she’s been able to bring in $15.47 billion in the international box office.
Talk about some checks we’d like to cash! Congratulations Zoe, when you get a second—let us hold $20. We know you’re good for it.
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