After another impressively profitable weekend in theaters, James Cameron's “Avatar: Fire and Ash” helped crown its star Zoe Saldaña as the queen of the box office.
The third “Avatar” movie earned $21.3 million in sales in North America last week, bringing its worldwide total to $1.23 billion. With those impressive statistics, Saldaña officially surpassed Scarlett Johansson as the highest-grossing actor of all time.
The Oscar winner has grossed more than $15.47 billion at the international box office, according to box office tracking website The Numbers. Johansson recently won the title after surpassing her “Avengers” co-star Samuel L. Jackson with the release of last summer’s “Jurassic World Rebirth.”
What helped propel Saldaña to the top is the fact that the 47-year-old actor stars in the three highest-grossing films of all time: 2009's “Avatar” ($2.9 billion), 2019's “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.8 billion) and 2022's “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.3 billion).
Saldaña is also the only actor to have appeared in four films that grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. (“Avengers: Infinity War” in 2018 grossed $2.05 billion).
Last year she proved that Saldaña's talent exceeded the realm of popcorn movies when she earned her first Academy Award for her supporting role in the controversial musical “Emilia Pérez.” His victory marked the first time that an actor with Dominican roots won an Oscar.
“I am a proud daughter of immigrant parents, with dreams, dignity and working hands,” she said through tears when accepting the award for supporting actress. “And I am the first Dominican-American to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last.”
Saldaña cemented her Oscar victory while fending off criticism of the film, specifically regarding its depictions of Mexicans and transgender people, as well as the scandal surrounding “Emilia Pérez” co-star Karla Sofía Gascón, when her offensive tweets containing anti-Muslim, anti-diversity and racist language resurfaced.
