Scarlett Johansson Is Now The Highest-Grossing Actress Of All Time

In a big boost for all actresses in Hollywood, Scarlett Johansson was named the highest-grossing female movie star by Box Office Mojo, placing above some stellar male stars like Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, and Matt Damon. That said, it is no doubt that it is also a great personal achievement for the Avengers actress, as Johansson ranks as No. 10 on the list. Johansson is in good company because the top four actors in the list, from No. 1 to No. 4, include Hollywood greats like Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, and Tom Hanks.

Scarlett Johansson has acted in a total of 37 movies to date, and all her movies combined have made box office earnings of approximately $3.3 billion in the U.S. alone, which is an average of roughly $90 million per movie.

In fact, all the nine male actors above Johansson on the list are older than her by at least 20 years, which is pretty impressive. Cameron Diaz is the only other actress in the top 20. She ranks at No. 19, with her 34 movies making a total of approximately $3 billion at the local box office. Helena Bonham Carter is at No. 26 on the list, Cate Blanchett is at No. 29, and Julia Roberts at No. 30.

Making history: Scarlett Johansson is officially the highest grossing actress of all time. https://t.co/AI03zKOEw9 pic.twitter.com/W2z2E64Zpd

— E! News (@enews) June 30, 2016

It is fitting that Johansson is the highest-grossing actress, especially after she openly spoke about the gender pay chasm that exists in Hollywood during an interview with Cosmopolitan.

She said, “There’s something icky about me having that conversation unless it applies to a greater whole. I am very fortunate, I make a really good living, and I’m proud to be an actress who’s making as much as many of my male peers at this stage. I think every woman has [been underpaid], but unless I’m addressing it as a larger problem, for me to talk about my own personal experience with it feels a little obnoxious. It’s part of a larger conversation about feminism in general.”

It might look like all is hunky dory with Johansson after reading that she is now the highest grossing actress in Hollywood, but that’s really not the case. She has, just like all of us, gone through a rough patch as well in the past.

In the same interview, she revealed, “Long, long ago, I had someone in my life who was forever unavailable…but, like, so attractively unavailable. You have to get to your breaking point…rock bottom is the moment when you’re like, ‘I’ve lost myself. Why am I standing outside this bar at 1:30 in the morning texting while my friends are inside? Or taking a taxi to see him at some ungodly hour? This isn’t me.’ That is the moment you’ve gotta cut it off. Otherwise, it will keep coming back, suck your blood.”

Johansson is acting in a handful of unreleased movies. The actress will play a “punk-rock porcupine” in the animated musical film Sing, which also stars Matthew McConaughey. Johansson is also acting in the Hollywood adaptation of popular manga comic Ghost in the Shell, which was incidentally embroiled in a bit of controversy because of whitewashing of the Asian characters by the makers of the movie.

The actress will also play a pivotal role in the R-rated comedy Rock That Body. In the movie, Johansson’s character and her friends plan a crazy weekend party at a Miami beach house, and, as usual, things go astray. Marvel is also planning to create a standalone movie for Johansson’s Avengers character, Black Widow, for the big screen.

Regarding creating a very own Black Widow movie, Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, said, “We think she’s an amazing character. We think Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of Black Widow is amazing. She’s a lead Avenger and has amazing stories in her own right to tell that we think would be fun to turn into a standalone franchise.”

[Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney]