Scarlett Johansson is the Highest Grossing Female Star Ever

Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson poses on the red carpet for the European premiere of the film 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' in London, April 21, 2015. The actor is the highest-grossing female star in Hollywood. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty

Scarlett Johansson, star of multiple Marvel superhero movies, Luc Besson's brilliant sci-fi thriller Lucy and Girl with a Pearl Earring, has been a leading lady for a while now. She's filled that action heroine role left vacant by Angelina Jolie, who seems more content behind the camera these days. She sometimes makes fun, quirky movies like Under the Skin that remind you just how good she is. And then sometimes she makes The Spirit.

But whatever she's doing, it's working. At the age of 31, she's already the highest-grossing female actor of all time with her movies raking in a staggering $3.3 billion in the U.S.

Box Office Mojo has released new rankings of the top-grossing film stars and Johansson is the only woman one to make the top 10—pulling just a few million dollars ahead of Gary Oldman for the 11th spot on the list.

Johansson's box office success is undoubtedly boosted by her roles in multiple Marvel comic book capers: The Avengers grossed $623 million stateside (totalling $1.5 billion worldwide) and its sequel Age of Ultron took $459 million. She has appeared in two movies in 2016 alone that have added to her box office numbers, too; Captain America: Civil War 's U.S. gross is $400 million and The Jungle Book, in which she voices snake Kaa, has taken $358 million.

The only other female actor to make the top 20 is Cameron Diaz at No.19. Her films have grossed just over $3 billion. Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett and Julia Roberts made the top 30.

The top-grossing actor of all time, meanwhile, is Harrison Ford with a lifetime gross of $4.8 billion, presumably factoring in multiple Star Wars and Indiana Jones adventures. The top five is rounded out by Samuel L. Jackson ($4.64 billion), Morgan Freeman ($4.4 billion), Tom Hanks ($4.3 billion) and Johansson's Avengers co-star Robert Downey Jr. ($3.9 billion).

The top-grossing actors are:

  1. Harrison Ford — $4.8 billion
  2. Samuel L. Jackson — $4.6 billion
  3. Morgan Freeman — $4.4 billion
  4. Tom Hanks — $4.3 billion
  5. Robert Downey Jr. — $3.9 billion
  6. Eddie Murphy — $3.8 billion
  7. Tom Cruise — $3.6 billion
  8. Johnny Depp — $3.370 billion
  9. Michael Caine — $3.340 billion
  10. Scarlett Johansson — $3.330 billion

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