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For years the title of the world’s highest-grossing star was dominated by male actors known for action franchises and superhero films. Names like Robert Downey Jr and Dwayne Johnson often led the conversation. But the latest box office shift has rewritten that narrative in a surprising way. A 37-year-old actress has now claimed the top position quietly changing Hollywood history. How did this happen? The turning point came after the massive global success of James Camerons Avatar: Fire and Ash. The film crossed the one billion dollar mark worldwide and once again proved the power of epic storytelling on the big screen. While the spotlight initially stayed on the film’s scale and visuals the bigger story emerged soon after. Its success pushed one actor’s career earnings to an all-time high. Zoe Saldana takes the top spot Zoe Saldana has officially become the highest-grossing actress and actor in the history of cinema. With a cumulative box office total of approximately 15.5 billion dollars she has moved past Scarlett Johansson who previously held the record. Scarlett now stands close behind at 15.4 billion dollars. Zoe’s achievement is remarkable as she has featured in four of the seven highest-grossing films of all time including the top three. The power of major franchises A major part of Zoe Saldana’s success comes from her long association with blockbuster franchises. Her three Avatar films alone account for nearly 6.6 billion dollars worldwide. Beyond that her role as Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe added over 7.5 billion dollars to her box office total. She has also been part of the Star Trek films which further strengthened her global reach. Zoe’s journey is far from over. She is set to appear in the biggest event of 2026 Avengers: Doomsday later this year which could push her numbers even higher. How the box office crown has changed over time? In earlier decades legends like Clark Gable and John Wayne ruled the box office charts. The 1990s saw Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone dominate. With the rise of superhero cinema Samuel L Jackson later took the lead before being overtaken by Scarlett Johansson. Today the list still includes familiar names like Robert Downey Jr Chris Pratt Chris Hemsworth Vin Diesel and Chris Evans. Among non superhero actors only Tom Cruise and Dwayne Johnson remain in the top ten.