E-Paper
Meet world's highest-grossing actor, child star who made $15.5B; beat Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson
A 30-year-old former child star is now the world's highest-grossing actor dethroning Zoe Saldana and Scarlett Johansson.
Prefer HTon Google
This week, a seismic shift occurred in the list of the highest-grossing actors of all time. For decades, the list has been topped by Hollywood's top stars, the ones who make the big bucks. The arrival of franchises meant the faces of the biggest film franchises took over in the 21st century. But one thing was common. The highest-grossing actor in the world was almost always someone over 40, with a sizable body of work under their belt. Now, for the first time, a 30-year-old leads the charts. And given the way his career is progressing, may just stay on top for a long time to come.
The highest-grossing actor of all time
For years now, the crown of the highest-grossing actor has been like a game of musical chairs between Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Saldana, and Chris Pratt. All three actors lead multiple franchises, and all of them are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, their junior from the MCU - Tom Holland has surpassed them. The blockbuster success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has helped Tom leapfrog his senior colleagues to the number one spot. His box office gross, after 24 films as lead, is a staggering $15.55 billion.
Just two months ago, Tom was in the 7th spot in the list, ahead of Chris Hemsworth but behind Tom Cruise. But Spider-Man Brand New Day’s $2.45 billion run at the box office helped Tom take the top spot. Behind him are Zoe Saldana ($15.47 billion), Scarlett Johansson ($15.40 billion), Chris Pratt ($15.15 billion), and Samuel L Jackson ($14.6 billion). The top 10 list is dominated by MCU stars, with Robert Downey Jr ($14.3 billion), Chris Hemsworth ($12.19 billion), Vin Diesel ($12.04 billion) and Chris Evans ($11.49 billion) also making it.
The only non-MCU actor in the top 10 is megastar Tom Cruise, whose 45 films have grossed $13.37 billion worldwide. This includes $4.74 billion from the Mission Impossible series and $1.9 billion from the two Top Gun films.
How Tom Holland swung to the top
Tom Holland began his acting career on stage at the age of 11, before making his film debut four years later in The Impossible. He found success early, appearing in How I Live Now (2013), Locke (2013), and Billy Elliot the Musical Live (2014) before turning 18. As an adult, his first major role was in In The Heart of the Sea, an adventure drama co-starring Chris Hemsworth. In June 2015, he found his big break, signing a six-film deal with Marvel Studios to play the new Spider-Man in the rebooted series, produced by Sony and part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, which minted over a billion dollars.
Since then, Tom has starred in four solo Spider-Man films that have collectively grossed over $6.3 billion. In addition, the actor has also appeared in two Avengers films - Infinity War and Endgame, which added to his box office gross. Outside of the MCU, the actor has appeared in hits such as Uncharted and The Odyssey. In 2026, his two films have grossed over $4.1 billion. Tom will add to his haul when Avengers: Doomsday releases later this year.
