Avatar: The Way of Water star Zoe Saldaña set a rare box office milestone as one of the highest-grossing actors in Hollywood.
According to The Direct, Saldaña is the first actor to appear in four movies that have each crossed $2 billion at the worldwide box office. Those films consist of 2009's Avatar ($2.9 billion) and its sequel The Way of Water ($2 billion), in which she starred as Neytiri, as well as Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War ($2.052 billion) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.7 billion), which she appeared in as Gamora.
The Way of Water officially crossed $2 billion worldwide at the box office on Jan. 22, now ranking as the sixth highest-grossing film of all time, behind only Avengers: Infinity War, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Endgame, Titanic and Avatar. Avatar remains the highest-grossing film of all time. Its sequel is reportedly one of the most expensive films ever made with a budget between $350 million and $400 million. It has been implied by Cameron that The Way of Water needed to make over $2 billion worldwide in order to break even.
Zoe Saldaña Is Franchise Royalty
2009 was a prominent year for Saldaña who, along with her role as Neytriri in Avatar, also starred as Lt. Uhura in J.J. Abrams's Star Trek reboot. She reprised the role for two subsequent sequels in 2013 and 2016. Saldaña has also appeared in the MCU as Gamora in Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy films, a role she will reprise one last time for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, set to release in theaters in 2023.
In previous interviews, Saldaña stated that she is ready to leave Gamora behind. "I can never say no to anything, but that green makeup? I wouldn't be upset if it didn't happen again," Saldaña joked. "I miss Gamora but I don't miss 3:30 a.m. calls and five-hour makeup sessions and trips to the dermatologist afterwards."
Prior to the release of The Way of Water in December 2022, Saldaña expressed that she felt "stuck" in franchises, though she would later clarify these comments. "I feel grateful and like the luckiest girl in this town knowing that I was invited to join films with special directors in a special cast," she said. "And they resonated with people so much so that we get a chance to come back again and come back another time. If anything, I've reaped all the benefits of that, I've gained friends. I still have mentors that I call and I lean into."
Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will release in theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: The Direct