Zoe Saldana Just Swiped A Huge Box Office Record From Another Marvel Actor

Zoe Saldana has just claimed a massive record. The Oscar-winning actor of "Avatar" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" fame can now claim the crown as the highest-grossing movie star of all time. Thanks to the continued success of "Avatar: Fire and Ash" in theaters, Saldana has taken the title from one of her former Marvel Cinematic Universe co-stars, namely Scarlett Johansson ("Black Widow").

"Fire and Ash" has now made well over $1 billion at the box office, having accumulated more than $1.23 billion worldwide after its fourth weekend in theaters. With that, Saldana's movies have now grossed a total of $16.8 billion at the global box office. And even if we limit it to films where she's either been a central star or part of the core ensemble, that number is still $15.46 billion. That's a hugely impressive feat, considering that Saldana's career dates back to 2000. Plenty of other top-grossing actors (such as Tom Cruise or Samuel L. Jackson) have been at this for far longer.

Johansson previously took the record when "Jurassic World: Rebirth" hit theaters last year. Johansson's total sits at $16.4 billion (or $15.4 billion if we focus only on movies where she's been a lead or a major part of the ensemble). Both she and Saldana have benefitted greatly from their work in the MCU, which has generated more than $32 billion at the box office globally to date. That's a big reason why the list also includes the likes of Robert Downey Jr. ($14.3 billion) and Chris Pratt ($14.1 billion).

Jackson ($14.6 billion) held the title for a long time, in no small part thanks to his performances as Nick Fury. But the MCU has fallen from grace a bit at the box office lately, which is partly why Saldana now has the crown.

Again, Zoe Saldana doesn't just have one big franchise to her name — she has several. That includes "Avatar," which is now the only $6 billion movie trilogy ever, and it will likely be a $7 billion trilogy before "Fire and Ash" finishes its run. There's also "Star Trek," as Saldana played Uhura in the sci-fi franchise's Kelvin Timeline films beginning with the J.J. Abrams-directed "Star Trek" in 2009.

In addition, though she didn't return for the sequels, Saldana also co-starred in the huge 2003 hit "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," which made $654 million worldwide, spawning yet another massive franchise. Even within the framework of the MCU, Saldana has starred in a trio of "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, on top of both "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."

Most impressive of all, Saldana has starred in three of the four highest-grossing movies of all time (unadjusted for inflation). Indeed, she was a big part of "Avatar" ($2.92 billion), which remains the biggest movie ever, as well as "Endgame" ($2.79 billion), which briefly took the crown from "Avatar," and "Avatar: The Way of Water" ($2.33 billion). "Infinity War" also cleared the $2 billion mark globally. She is absolutely the queen of modern franchise filmmaking.

Saldana's biggest movie outside of a franchise is, oddly enough, Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal" ($219 million worldwide), which was pretty early on in her career in 2004. Looking ahead, Scarlett Johansson could reclaim the crown in the future, as she's set to star in "The Batman Part II" next year, in addition to another likely "Jurassic" sequel. For now, though, Saldana reigns supreme.

"Avatar: Fire and Ash" is in theaters now.