Scarlett Johansson has just become the highest grossing actor in Hollywood – here’s 8 of her most iconic roles

Scarlett Johansson has been working since she was ten years old – and all that hard graft has paid off as she surpasses Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr. as the highest grossing lead actor, with the help of Jurassic World Rebirth’s monstrous opening weekend performance.

Johansson has set the record at $14.8 billion for her career, and we’d say that’s more than enough reason to not only book your tickets to Jurassic World Rebirth, but also take a look at some of the most influential roles that led her to this moment.

 

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Ghost World (2001)

Ghost World wasn’t her first leading role (in fact, Thora Birch takes the credit for that one), but Terry Zwigoff’s black comedy, about two teenage girls whose friendship takes a knock when Edith (Birch) takes an interest in an older man, ended up receiving a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. And if you’re in an Oscar nominated movie, you’re likely to be on more people’s radar. Having already put in the work with the likes of Manny & Lo (1996) and The Horse Whisperer (1998), Ghost World is seen as Scarlett’s cut through moment.

 

Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World GIF

 

Lost in Translation (2003)

Starring alongside Bill Murray, Sofia Coppala’s Lost in Translation earned Scarlett a Golden Globe nomination as Charlotte, a disillusioned American to Murray’s washed-up actor in Tokyo. More importantly, though, it earned her her first and only BAFTA so far for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film also saw plenty of buzz at the Academy Awards.

Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)

That same year, in 2003, Scarlett appeared in Peter Webber’s Girl with a Pearl Earring alongside Colin Firth, which she also received a nod from the Golden Globes for. Adapted from Tracy Chevalier’s book of the same name, Scarlett plays a servant in the household of 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, played by Firth.

Match Point (2005)

Scarlett became something of a fixture in a lot of Woody Allen movies for a few years, starting with Match Point, before going on to play a journalist in Scoop (2006) and one of two friends having an affair with painter Juan Antonio in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Of course, her first feature was the most pivotal in beginning this lucrative partnership, portraying Chloe alongside Jonathan Rhy Meyers’ tennis pro player Chris Wilton. This role began to showcase Scarlett as the assertive, passionate young woman, attributes that we associate with her today.

 

 

Iron Man 2 (2010)

While it may not be Marvel’s most successful movie, Iron Man 2 was the world’s introduction to Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and saw her booked and busy for the next decade. Long anticipated by fans, her story arch came to the end with her own title film in 2021 with Black Widow, which saw the introduction of Florence Pugh’s character Yelena Belova. Passing the baton from one killer woman to another, as it were.

 

 

Her (2013)

A modern day love story of sorts (the kind of scary kind), Scarlett Johansson voiced Samantha, the AI voice that Joaquin Phoenix forms a relationship with in Spike Jonze’s Her. Now considered one of the best films of its decade, this was an insightful and tender movie that also starred some other big names including Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, and Olivia Wilde.

Sing (2016)

Who knew Scarlett Johansson had singing talent? Jonathan Bailey did. Look, as much as Scarlett Johansson is a treat for the eyes, we can’t not talk about some of her incredible voice acting, and the success of Sing is one such example. In the movie and its sequel she plays Ash, a punk rocking porcupine obviously.

Marriage Story (2019)

Much like Leonardo DiCaprio for years, actually taking home the Oscar eludes Scarlett, but she did receive a nomination for Best Actress – a movie that would’ve contributed to her record breaking gross lead actor total – for Marriage Story. Performing alongside Adam Driver, the pair portrayed a couple whose marriage is breaking down.

Scarlett Johansson is more than overdue her flowers, and hopefully with this incredible milestone it won't be long until she gets them. For now, she's kicking dinosaur butt on the big screen alongside Johnathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, and Rupert Friend.

 

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