Over the last 10 years or so, it has become the norm for massive blockbuster movies to surpass a billion dollars earned at the worldwide box office.
Whether it be a Marvel, DC, Pixar property or something else altogether, studios can rest assured that, if they get a movie star on board, they are guaranteed to get plenty of money in return.
Officially, the biggest box-office draw of all time is Robert Downey Jr., with his lead roles accumulating no less than $16,301,122,522. Two of his Marvel co-stars, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, are in second and third respectively.
Downey Jr. took the top spot last summer thanks to the success of Oppenheimer, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
As you no doubt would have predicted, the list is dominated by stars who have appeared in MCU movies. In addition to the aforementioned trio, we also have Zoe Saldana, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper.
Indeed, only one actor in our list, Tom Cruise, is yet to appear in a movie for Marvel.
All the Marvel actors' top movie is Avengers: Endgame apart from one; Zoe Saldana, whose highest-grossing movie remains Avatar.
Crucially, for our list we are focusing on actors who have accumulated these box office numbers from lead roles. If you were to simply take appearances into account, the highest-grossing performer of all time is actually Stan Lee thanks to his numerous cameos.
Highest-grossing actors
| Actor | Worldwide Box Office | Biggest Movie |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Downey Jr. | $16,301,122,522 | Avengers: Endgame |
| Scarlett Johansson | $15,432,591,515 | Avengers: Endgame |
| Samuel L. Jackson | $14,376,505,937 | Avengers: Endgame |
| Zoe Saldana | $14,240,098,353 | Avatar |
| Chris Pratt | $13,930,412,487 | Avengers: Endgame |
| Vin Diesel | $12,094,641,073 | Avengers: Endgame |
| Chris Hemsworth | $11,959,862,470 | Avengers: Endgame |
| Tom Cruise | $11,777,319,499 | Top Gun: Maverick |
| Chris Evans | $11,277,890,989 | Avengers: Endgame |
| Bradley Cooper | $11,275,037,103 | Avengers: Endgame |
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