Zoe Saldaña has just reached a milestone: the actress who played Neytiri and Gamora is now the highest-grossing actress of all time, surpassing Scarlett Johansson in cumulative worldwide box office revenue.
A filmography that breaks all records
The American actress, director, and producer can boast a rare feat: she appears in the cast of the three highest-grossing films in cinematic history, "Avatar," "Avengers: Endgame," and "Avatar: The Way of Water," all of which topped the global box office. She is also the first actress to appear in four films that have grossed over $2 billion, thanks to "Avengers: Infinity War," which joins this exclusive club.
Adding together all of her films – from "Marvel" blockbusters to the "Avatar" saga and the "Star Trek" trilogy – her roles have brought worldwide box office receipts to over $15 billion, an absolute record for an actress.
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When franchises create legends
Zoe Saldaña owes much of this status to a few iconic roles that have become inseparable from contemporary pop culture.
- Gamora, tragic heroine and warrior in the Marvel galaxy, present in "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame".
- Neytiri, a central figure in James Cameron's "Avatar" saga, at the heart of films that are monumental both in terms of their budget and their box office success.
Added to this is Nyota Uhura in the "Star Trek" trilogy launched in 2009, which alone generated more than a billion dollars, reinforcing its place in the ecosystem of major international franchises.
Zoe Saldaña takes the lead… and the adventure is only just beginning
By 2024, her cumulative earnings already placed her on the podium behind Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, both also boosted by the Marvel universe. The release of the film "Avatar 3: Fire and Ashes," which has already grossed over a billion dollars, has shifted the balance and propelled Zoe Saldaña to the top of the list of the most profitable actors and actresses.
And the projections are even more ambitious: two new Avatar installments are announced for 2029 and 2031, which should consolidate, or even further widen, its lead at the global box office.
Artistic recognition and a message of gratitude
Crowned with an Oscar for Best Actress in 2025 for "Emilia Perez," Zoe Saldaña is no longer just a "queen of franchises," but also an actress recognized for the depth of her talent. On social media, she celebrated this milestone by thanking the directors, crews, and audiences, emphasizing that this journey is the result of collective effort and demanding choices.
Far from being a simple numerical ranking, this record symbolizes the growing place of racialized actresses at the head of the biggest Hollywood machines, and confirms that the new queen of the world box office is now Zoe Saldaña.
