Scarlett Johansson Broke A Huge Box Office Record Held By Her Fellow Marvel Stars
Scarlett Johansson is now the biggest movie star in the world, at least when it comes to the global box office. Thanks to the success of "Jurassic World Rebirth" during its opening weekend, Johansson has now claimed the title of Hollywood's highest-grossing lead actor, overtaking her Marvel Cinematic Universe co-stars in the process.
"Rebirth" opened to an estimated $318.3 million worldwide over the long Fourth of July weekend, which was well above pre-release tracking. That now brings Johansson's box office total to $14.8 billion when it comes to movies she's starred in (that is, where she's either a lead character or part of the lead ensemble. That even puts her above Samuel L. Jackson, whose own box office tally is currently at $14.6 billion. Of course, if we take absolutely everything into account, cameos included, then Johansson is sitting at $15.8 billion while Jackson is at an absolutely wild $28.3 billion.
However, Jackson's many cameos as Nick Fury in the MCU, lumped in the likes of "Avengers: Endgame" (which made nearly $2.8 billion worldwide in 2019), do a lot of work to pad out that total. Meanwhile, Johansson was one of the key players in "Endgame," making it far more fair to include that one as part of her total. In any event, that nearly $15 billion figure represents the culmination of a remarkable career for Johansson, who is known best to audiences around the world as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow.
Johansson's turns as Black Widow in the MCU account for more than $10 billion of her ever-growing total. In fact, that's pretty much the case with everyone on the list, including Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr. ($14.3 billion), and Chris Pratt ($14.1 billion), who's had the benefit of playing both Owen Grady in the first "Jurassic World" trilogy and Star-Lord in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" films.
How Scarlett Johansson became the biggest actor at the box office
The thing about Johansson is she still has literally decades to continue padding out these numbers. At 40, she remains one of the most in-demand stars in Hollywood and, even though she's left the MCU behind, she continues to add big bucks to her box office total. Case in point, "Jurassic World Rebirth" is only just beginning what looks to be a massive run.
Granted, the MCU is the main reason Johansson now holds the box office crown, but it's not the only reason. Her presence helped turn Wes Anderson's "Asteroid City" into a $50 million hit, relatively speaking. She's also got stuff like Disney's live-action "The Jungle Book" ($951 million) to her name, as well as the animated "Sing" franchise, which accounts for more than $1 billion combined. Not to mention the rarely mentioned "Lucy," which quietly earned over $450 million globally in 2014.
So yes, starring in the $1.5 billion hit that was "The Avengers" in 2012 has helped Johansson beyond measure, but she's done a great deal with her fame beyond the MCU. That's something that, with all due respect, not all of the actors who've signed up to play a major superhero can say. Chris Hemsworth, for example, has had a much harder time finding hits beyond the "Thor" movies. It's not just about the superhero, either. Johansson has an enduring appeal and has made the most of her fame. It's nothing shy of impressive. All hail the new queen of the box office.
"Jurassic World Rebirth" is in theaters now.