As James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar: Fire and Ash continues its box office dominance heading into its third weekend, one of the film’s stars is set to claim an incredible milestone from a Marvel Cinematic Universe favorite. Hitting theaters on Dec. 19, Avatar: Fire and Ash has already made $762 million at the global box office, proving that there’s still a lot of life left in the franchise that kicked off in 2009.
Starring the likes of Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Zoe Saldaña, Avatar: Fire and Ash’s command of the box office has propelled Saldaña into an elite group of actors. As of Dec. 29, she is now the second-highest-grossing actor of all time at the global box office, pushing Samuel L. Jackson into third place. In total, Saldaña’s movies have made $15.01 billion at the box office, whereas Jackson’s have made $14.60 billion.
The push to second place now places Saldaña behind another MCU favorite: Scarlett Johansson. Saldaña, herself an MCU star thanks to her portrayal of Gamora, now sits just $172,811,100 behind Johansson in all-time box office gross. Should Avatar: Fire and Ash continue its winning ways both domestically and overseas, that will move her into first place to become the highest-grossing actor in history. Johansson has only held the crown since July 2025, when Jurassic World Rebirth’s take of $869 million moved her ahead of Jackson in the rankings.
Who Else Ranks Among the Highest-Grossing Actors?
With Saldaña poised to become the highest-grossing actor of all time at the box office, Johansson’s move to second, and Jackson in third place, the remaining two who round out the top five come as a surprise to absolutely no one. In fourth place is Robert Downey Jr., whose movies have made $14.31 billion. That being said, look for him to move up the list when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters next year, as it’s certain to be a massive hit for the MCU star, who will take on the role of Victor von Doom.
In fifth place is Chris Pratt, as films like Jurassic World, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise have been massive money-makers for the star. In total, his pictures have grossed a worldwide total of $14.13 billion, which is nearly a billion more than sixth place, Tom Cruise. Like Downey Jr., we expect him to also move up the list, or at least hold fast in fifth place, when The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits theaters on April 6, 2026. The first film made $1.3 billion during its theatrical run, and the second could earn just as much, if not more.
As we await to see how much longer it takes Saldaña to claim the crown from Johansson, be sure to catch Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters now from 20th Century Studios. Look for Saldaña to also appear down the line alongside Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban in the swashbuckling adventure movie The Bluff which – coincidentally – is produced by Avengers: Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
