Tom Holland Surpasses Scarlett Johansson to Become World's Highest-Grossing Actor

For years, the list of highest-grossing actors has been dominated by Hollywood stars over 40. However, a seismic shift happened this week as Tom Holland, just 30 years old, took the top spot with his box office gross exceeding $15.55 billion.

The blockbuster success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day helped Tom leapfrog his senior colleagues to the number one spot. Just two months ago, Tom was in the 7th spot in the list, ahead of Chris Hemsworth but behind Tom Cruise. But Spider-Man Brand New Day’s $2.45 billion run at the box office helped Tom take the top spot.

Tom began his acting career on stage at 11, before making his film debut in The Impossible. He found success early, appearing in How I Live Now (2013), Locke (2013), and Billy Elliot the Musical Live (2014) before turning 18.

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In June 2015, he found his big break, signing a six-film deal with Marvel Studios to play the new Spider-Man in the rebooted series. He made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, which minted over a billion dollars.

The top 10 list is dominated by MCU stars. With Robert Downey Jr ($14.3 billion), Chris Hemsworth ($12.19 billion), Vin Diesel ($12.04 billion) and Chris Evans ($11.49 billion) also making it.

The only non-MCU actor in the top 10 is megastar Tom Cruise, whose 45 films have grossed $13.37 billion worldwide. This includes $4.74 billion from the Mission Impossible series and $1.9 billion from the two Top Gun films.

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Tom has starred in four solo Spider-Man films that have collectively grossed over $6.3 billion. In addition, the actor has also appeared in hits such as Uncharted and The Odyssey.

In 2026, his two films have grossed over $4.1 billion. Tom will add to his haul when Avengers: Doomsday releases later this year.

The arrival of franchises meant the faces of the biggest film franchises took over in the 21st century. But one thing was common. The highest-grossing actor in the world was almost always someone over 40, with a sizable body of work under their belt.

Now, for the first time, a 30-year-old leads the charts. And given the way his career is progressing, may just stay on top for a long time to come.