Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Dune 2
Movies Upcoming movies: The most exciting new movies coming in 2026 and beyond
A Na'vi draws a bow in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Sci-Fi Movies James Cameron says Avatar 4 is still "very likely", despite Fire and Ash making $870 million less than The Way of Water
(L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo 'Matty' Nix in The Rip.
Action Movies The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace in Project Hail Mary
Sci-Fi Movies Ryan Gosling's upcoming sci-fi film Project Hail Mary is reportedly Amazon's most expensive movie ever
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
Streaming Services The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Sci-Fi Movies Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in Scream 7
Horror Movies Scream 7 takes franchise over $1 billion, joining the likes of The Conjuring, Alien, and Resident Evil
Mabel and a lizard in Pixar's Hoppers
Animated Movies Hoppers debuts to $88 million at the box office, the best opening weekend for an original animated movie since Coco
Princess Rosalina in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer
Animated Movies Certified Nintendo fangirl and Rosalina actor Brie Larson says Super Mario Galaxy is one of her favorite games
Godzilla in Godzilla Minus One
Sci-Fi Movies The 10 best sci-fi movies on Netflix to watch right now
Aang, Sokka and Katara standing on a stone wall during the series Avatar: The Last Airbender
Animated Movies Aang director confirms the next Avatar movie has wrapped, but seems to be still fighting for a theatrical release
Catherine Laga'aia in the live-action Moana movie
Animated Movies New Disney movies 2026 and beyond
Best superhero movies: close-up images of Captain America, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Superhero Movies The 25 best superhero movies of all time
Neytiri and Jake Sully in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Sci-Fi Movies Avatar 4 release date, cast, plot, and everything else you need to know
Superman kisses Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman
Movies The 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Sci-Fi Movies

Zoe Saldaña is now the highest-grossing actor of all time following Avatar's continued success

News
By Mireia Mullor published 12 January 2026

Scarlett Johansson has been dethroned as the queen of the global box office

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Avatar Fire and Ash
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Zoe Saldaña's latest box office hit Avatar: Fire and Ash has propelled her towards the top spot in the list of highest-grossing actors of all time. That's hardly a surprise, considering she's part of some of the most popular franchises in Hollywood, playing iconic characters such as Gamora in the MCU, Neytiri in the Avatar saga, and Nyota Uhura in Star Trek.

Dethroning Scarlett Johansson (for now) and way ahead of Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Pratt (who are third, fourth and fifth in the ranking), Saldaña's movies have grossed over $15.4 billion at the global box office.

In 2023, she became the first actor ever to have four movies cross the $1 billion mark worldwide. Now, she's breaking one more record in her impressive, hit-stacked career.

You may like
  • Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri in Avatar: Fire and Ash After becoming the highest-grossing actor ever, Zoe Saldaña thanks James Cameron and James Gunn in touching message
  • Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash Avatar: Fire and Ash has officially crossed $1 billion
  • Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash Varang star Oona Chaplin "studied" Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri to craft her Avatar: Fire and Ash villain

Since her film debut in the early 2000s, the actor has starred in blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, all three Avatar movies, five MCU movies – including the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame – and the three Star Trek reboot films. She also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the musical Emilia Pérez last year.

Saldaña is currently starring in the Paramount+ show Lioness. Meanwhile, on the big screen, James Cameron is yet to announce if Avatar 4 is happening or not.

"I don't know if the saga goes beyond this point. I hope it does," he said recently, leaving the fate of the popular sci-fi saga up in the air. "I'm not going to rule it out. I mean, I've got to make it in a vigorous way, to handle the kind of volume and energy of the work for another six or seven years. You know what I mean? I might not be able to do that," he added.

Until further notice, Avatar 4 is still set to hit cinemas on December 21, 2029, with a new narrator now confirmed.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

In the meantime, Avatar: Fire and Ash is still in cinemas, so dive into our guides on the Avatar: Fire and Ash ending and whether there's an Avatar: Fire and Ash post-credits scene to know more.

PRODUCTS
Avatar Avatar: The Way of Water Avatar 3
Mireia Mullor
Mireia Mullor
Social Links Navigation
Contributing Writer

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri in Avatar: Fire and Ash
After becoming the highest-grossing actor ever, Zoe Saldaña thanks James Cameron and James Gunn in touching message
 
 
Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar: Fire and Ash has officially crossed $1 billion
 
 
Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Varang star Oona Chaplin "studied" Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri to craft her Avatar: Fire and Ash villain
 
 
Neytiri and Jake Sully in Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar 4 release date, cast, plot, and everything else you need to know
 
 
Neytiri from Avatar
James Cameron says he needs to figure out a cheaper way to make Avatar movies for Avatar 4 and 5 to happen
 
 
Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou in Star Trek: Section 31
James Cameron says Wicked star and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh will play a Na’Vi in Avatar 4
 
 
Latest in Sci Fi Movies
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace in Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary review: "Large scale sci-fi with tons of heart"
 
 
A Na'vi draws a bow in Avatar: Fire and Ash
James Cameron says Avatar 4 is still "very likely", despite Fire and Ash making $870 million less than The Way of Water
 
 
Hayden Christensen in Revenge of  the Sith
Star Wars fans are debating an iconic Revenge of the Sith scene that's now one of the saga's biggest 'what if' moments
 
 
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
The Bride bombs at the box office with $13.6 million opening against a $90 million budget
 
 
Dave Filoni
Kathleen Kennedy says Dave Filoni taking over as Lucasfilm co-president has "been a 10-year mentoring process"
 
 
A still from The Mandalorian season 3
Kathleen Kennedy insists Baby Yoda won't speak in The Mandalorian and Grogu
 
 
Latest in News
Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs felt "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard
 
 
Palworld Pal with shocked expression
"I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation"
 
 
Dafne Keen brandishing her claws as Laura/X-23 in Deadpool and Wolverine
Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
 
 
Peak mesa biome
Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads to see whose game would sell more
 
 
Key art for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred showing Mephisto, a spiky and angular demon, against a red, lightning backdrop, arm and claw raised menancingly, cropped to show more of him
Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
 
 
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu standing in a row
Samurai Champloo is getting a live-action Netflix series from One Piece studio, and the original creator is on board
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
    1
    Marvel Rivals devs couldn't help but "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard: "It's not guaranteed"
  2. 2
    "It's going to be really f***ing hard": Diablo 4 is getting 8 new difficulty tiers in Lord of Hatred because Blizzard wants OP builds to actually have to try
  3. 3
    Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
  4. 4
    "I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation" with a "decade of continuous, massive updates"
  5. 5
    "Whoever sells more copies pays for the other's therapy": Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads, and ironically the friendslop collab that followed sold more than both games combined

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...