Not Scarlett Johansson or Samuel L. Jackson: she’s just become the world’s highest ever grossing actor

Everything was pointing in that direction – and in the end it has happened. Actress Zoe Saldaña, best known for playing Gamora in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy, is now the new global box office queen thanks to the extraordinary success of her films in theaters.

So much so that the American actress of Dominican descent has overtaken Scarlett Johansson to become the highest-grossing actress of all time, driven by the performance of Avatar: Fire and Ash. And she still has room to widen the gap, as audiences continue to turn out steadily to see James Cameron’s latest release, whose global box office is estimated at between $1.5bn and $1.7bn.

Zoe Saldaña: the new queen of Hollywood

Shortly after Avatar: Fire and Ash arrived in theaters, Saldaña had already surpassed Samuel L. Jackson in the all-time ranking of highest-grossing actors, with Johansson still holding the top spot – though not by much. However, the total gross accumulated so far by the third Avatar film – more than $1.2bn – has now been enough to push Saldaña past Johansson into first place, making her the highest-grossing actress in cinema history.

Both actresses owe much of their staggering numbers to Marvel Studios and their respective roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Johansson as Black Widow and Saldaña as Gamora. Both featured in the colossal Avengers crossovers, which delivered enormous box office returns for their franchises. Johansson, meanwhile, still has time to add to her tally, as she is set to join the Jurassic World saga and will also appear in The Batman 2.

For her part, Saldaña also has plenty left in the tank with the Avatar franchise, as her appearance in Avatar 4 has already been confirmed, with a release slated for December 2029. As things stand, Scarlett Johansson’s career box office total sits at $15.401bn, while Zoe Saldaña, boosted by Avatar: Fire and Ash, has already reached $15.468bn.

That said, Saldaña may yet face competition from within Disney itself. Robert Downey Jr. is not far behind with $14.315bn in career box office thanks to his overwhelming success as Iron Man in the MCU. He is set to return this December as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, a move that all but guarantees another massive box office haul and could easily propel him to the top of the ranking. The battle is on.

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