Scarlett Johansson has lost her position as the highest-earning actor of all time to Avatar and Marvel actress Zoe Saldaña.
The latest third chapter of James Cameron’s Avatar series,Avatar: Fire And Ash, has propelled the 2025 Oscar winnerto the pinnacle of the list, as reported by an industry publicationThe Numbers.
Saldaña has appeared in four of the seven highest-earning movies ever, including the number one and two films,Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water) and these franchises have made the 47-year-old actress the top star in a leading role at the global box office, with a total revenue of $15.46 billion worldwide.
This indicates that she has surpassed Scarlett Johansson, whose movies have earned $15.4 billion.
Avatar: Fire and Ash officially crossed the $1bn milestoneat the worldwide box office at the start of the year, marking Cameron’s fourth movie to surpass the billion-dollar threshold, followingTitanic, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, and one of just three Hollywood films launched in 2025 to surpass $1 billion, afterLilo & Stitch ($1.038bn) and Zootopia 2 ($1.51bn to date).
As of Tuesday, Avatar: Fire And Ash hit $1.23bn.
In our less than positive assessment ofAvatar: Fire And Ash, we wrote: “It’s impossible to ignore the stunning technical achievements in this film, and no one is arguing that it isn’t grand cinema. However, impressive technological advancements mean little without a compelling—let alone original—narrative, and viewers may become desensitized to the visual spectacle if they feel offended by a poorly thought-out script that offers a recycled collection of fragmented storylines. It’s evident with this third installment that once you’ve watched one Avatar film, you’ve essentially seen them all.”
It is yet to be determined if the third Avatar movie can exceed the $2 billion threshold in global earnings. Should it achieve this, a fourth installment in the franchise would likely be unavoidable.
Cameron has previously mentioned that he has intentions for a fourth and fifth film, and more recently made a joke about ifAvatar: Fire And Ashperforms below expectations, he will host a press conference to disclose the storyline of Avatar 4 and Avatar 5.
“I’m not sure if the series continues past this point. I hope it does,” Cameron said.Entertainment WeeklyBut, you see, we demonstrate that business case each time we go out.
Here’s the thing,” he added. “If we don’t manage to create 4 and 5, for any reason, I’ll hold a press conference and let you know what our plans were. How does that sound?