World's highest-grossing actor is a woman with no solo hit; yet made $15B; beat Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr, Brad Pitt

The highest-grossing actor of all time is a female star, whose films have grossed $15 billion at the box office, more than Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr's hauls.

Updated on: Jul 8, 2025, 10:34:59 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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The metric for measuring stardom is a tricky thing, but most agree that it directly relates to a star's drawing power - the ability to pull audiences to the theatres. And that translates into box office receipts. So, it stands to reason that the biggest stars will always be the highest-grossing. But with the emergence of ensemble films, franchises, and a multiversal cinematic universe, that has become murkier. So much so that the current highest-grossing actor in the world is a star who has never given a solo hit in their career.

The world's highest-grossing actor poses during a photocall at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe (REUTERS)

The highest-grossing actor in the world

As of July 7, the new highest-grossing actor of all time is Scarlett Johansson. The 40-year-old has starred in 52 films in lead or co-lead, which have collectively earned close to $15 billion at the box office. Scarlett has now overtaken her Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Samuel L Jackson, who has grossed $14.8 billion at the box office in 66 films as the lead. Rounding up the top 3 is another MCU star - Robert Downey, Jr ($14.3 billion in 65 films). Much of Scarlett's box office haul has come from her seven appearances in the MCU, including the four Avengers films that have collectively grossed over $7 billion. But what has allowed her to leapfrog Sam Jackson is her starring role in Jurassic World: Rebirth. The film has already earned $322 million worldwide in its opening weekend, helping ScarJo move past the veteran star.

Scarlett Johansson now stars in the Jurassic World franchise.

Interestingly, in her career, Scarlett has never starred in a solo box office hit. Most of her successes have come in ensembles (like the MCU) or with other co-leads (like Jurassic World).

The superstars Scarlett Johansson beat

Given the stupendous success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (it has grossed $32 billion worldwide), the list of top 10 highest-grossing actors is dominated by MCU stars and alum, including Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, and Bradley Cooper. Zoe Saldana is at number 4 as she stars in not just the MCU films, but also the Avatar series (combined worldwide gross over $5 billion). The only non-MCU star in the top 10 is Tom Cruise at #6, who has earned $13.3 billion from 29 films as the lead. Brad Pitt, one of the biggest stars in the last 30 years, is not even in the top 10.

The highest-grossing Indian stars are Priyanka Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan, both of whom have worked in films grossing over $1 billion each.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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