Thanks to Avatar: Zoe Saldaña is now the highest-grossing acting star ever
Her newest blockbuster puts her ahead of two other Hollywood stars
Zoe Saldaña has broken a record with her role as the heroic Neytiri in James Cameron's science fiction spectacle "Avatar: Fire and Ash" : No other acting star has made more money with films than she has. Her works now have an impressive total box office takings of 15.47 billion US dollars. This puts her ahead of two other Hollywood stars, as Variety reports.
Before "Avatar 3", Scarlett Johansson led the rankings with 15.40 billion, closely followed by Samuel L. Jackson, who is still the most profitable male actor of all time with 14.6 billion. How can Zoe Saldaña's commercial success be explained? Mainly through franchises. In addition to her current blockbuster "Avatar: Fire and Ash", which has already grossed 1.2 billion and, together with the first two parts, a whopping 6.4 billion, she has also played the alien heroine Gamora in various films in the extremely successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. She can also be seen as Uhura in three films in the "Star Trek" franchise.
Apart from Saldaña and Johansson, the ranking of the most profitable film stars is largely dominated by men. There is just one other actress in the top 20 places in the ranking published by The Numbers: Emma Watson, who became a star as Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" films. Otherwise, many other Marvel stars such as Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo are represented, as well as actors such as Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp, who also have extremely profitable blockbuster franchises to their name with "Mission: Impossible" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" respectively.
Zoe Saldaña comments on record with moving words
No question: Saldaña can be proud to top the rankings. To express her joy about the record, she turned to her fans via Instagram. There she posted a clip in which she explained:
I just want to express my sincerest gratitude for the extraordinary journey that has led me to become the highest-grossing film actor of all time today. An achievement made possible entirely, entirely by the incredible franchises and the collaborators that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of, to every director who placed their trust in me.
She then goes on to thank "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams, "Avengers" filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo and "Guardians of the Galaxy" mastermind James Gunn. However, she particularly emphasized in moving words how important "Avatar" director James Cameron was for her career: "For believing my potential for seeing something in me that I have not always seen in myself, and for challenging me to always rise to the occasion. Your faith, your guidance and your vision, they shape not only these films, but me as an artist."
Milestones in Zoe Saldaña's career: Lots of sci-fi and an Oscar
Saldaña's career began in 1999 with a modest guest appearance in the long-running crime series "Law & Order". After a few smaller films such as "Center Stage" and "Crossroads", her first blockbuster followed in 2003: in "Pirates of the Caribbean", she played the pirate Anamaria as a supporting actress alongside Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom. Her breakthrough was still a few years away, but in 2009 the time had come - and how! In that year, she took on the leading role of Uhura in the cinema reboot "Star Trek", with which director J.J. Abrams gave the legendary science fiction franchise a makeover. Secondly, it was the year in which she entered the world of Pandora for the first time: James Cameron cast her in the leading female role of the alien fighter Neytiri in his science fiction blockbuster "Avatar", which soon became the most commercially successful film of all time - and finally made Saldaña a star.
Another milestone in her career was her role in the sci-fi adventure "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) , where she also becomes an extraterrestrial heroine as former assassin Gamora. The film was not only a commercial success, but also delighted fans and critics alike. And at least as important: "Guardians of the Galaxy" became Saldaña's ticket to the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. She not only starred in the two sequels to James Gunn's "Guardians" series, but also in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame", which became the two most successful Marvel films of all time with box office takings of more than 2 billion US dollars each - and also have a place in the top 10 most successful films in cinema history in general.
Award for Emilia Pérez
However, Saldaña owes perhaps the greatest moment of her extremely successful career to a film that is far from being a blockbuster: "Emilia Pérez". This unconventional musical by French director Jacques Audiard tells the story of a transsexual drug lord who wants to leave his life of crime behind him. Saldaña plays the lawyer Rita Mora Castro, who is supposed to help make the project possible - and she does so in such a rousing and convincing way that she was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the 2025 Academy Awards. In addition to her acting skills, she was also able to demonstrate her musical talent and the song she sang, "El Mal", was also awarded the Oscar for Best Film Song of the Year. A very special role for the actress, as she made clear in her acceptance speech. "I thank the Academy for recognizing the quiet heroism and strength in a woman like Rita and for talking about powerful women," Saldaña emphasized in light of her triumph. The well-deserved culmination of a film career that is not only commercially but also artistically convincing across the board.
Saldaña is also convincing in the new Avatar film
Saldaña also proves what an outstanding actress she is in the blockbuster "Avatar: Fire and Ash", which is currently showing in cinemas. One might criticize the third part of the sci-fi series for being increasingly redundant, especially towards the end, when it once again comes to the big battle between the alien Na'vi and the humans who want to mercilessly take over Neytiri's homeland. What we see seems all too familiar in view of its predecessor, "Avatar: The Way of Water". Especially at the beginning of the film, however, when the main focus is on how the protagonists deal with the personal losses resulting from the previous battles, Saldaña is once again able to demonstrate her skills as a character actress - and also show how incredibly sophisticated performance capturing has become in Cameron's film series.
The way she embodies Neytiri, who is plagued by grief and anger, gets under your skin and is technically so elaborate that it is impossible to resist Saldaña's performance. The other actors in the ensemble are also convincing, especially Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, Stephen Lang as villain Miles Quaritch and newcomer Oona Chaplin as Varang, who becomes the film's central antagonist alongside Quaritch. However, Saldaña's performance, which can certainly compete with her performance in "Emilia Pérez", is the most memorable. However, it is more than doubtful whether she will win another Oscar when the Academy Awards are presented in March 2026. In any case, experts are not considering her as an Oscar candidate this year - which, of course, in no way diminishes her performance in "Avatar: Fire and Ash".
Find out in our review what else "Avatar: Fire and Ash" has to offer and whether the film is also convincing in other respects.
