‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Star Tom Holland Is Closing in on an Elite Box Office Club, And Only Two Names Stand in His Way

Hollywood has seen plenty of actors ride a franchise to box office glory, but few have had a summer quite like the one Tom Holland is currently enjoying. Between a beloved Marvel character and a prestige epic from one of the industry’s most respected directors, Holland has spent the past several weeks dominating global ticket sales in a way that few stars ever manage.

The numbers behind that dominance have been piling up fast. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘The Odyssey’ have both become genuine box office phenomena, and together they’ve reshaped where Holland sits among Hollywood’s biggest earners.

That momentum has now put Holland on track to become the third-highest-grossing actor of all time at the worldwide box office, trailing only Zoe Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson. It’s a remarkable jump for an actor who began the year sitting well outside the very top of that chart.

Holland entered 2026 in 14th place on the all-time highest-grossing actors list, with a career total of $9.9 billion. That put him roughly $1.5 billion behind Dwayne Johnson, who held the 11th spot at the time.

Then came the one-two punch of ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’ Christopher Nolan’s adaptation became his highest-grossing film ever, not adjusted for inflation, pulling in more than $1.1 billion and surpassing ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ ‘Brand New Day,’ meanwhile, has been shattering records at a pace few blockbusters ever reach, hitting $1 billion globally in just six days, faster than every film in history except ‘Avengers: Endgame.’

Combined, the two films pushed Holland’s 2026 earnings to roughly $1.8 billion. That surge has been enough to vault him past names like Samuel L. Jackson, whose career total sits at approximately $14.6 billion, and Robert Downey Jr., who stands at roughly $14.3 billion, positioning Holland to soon claim sole possession of third place.

The top two spots remain a different story altogether. Saldaña currently leads the all-time chart with career earnings around $16.86 billion, built on her roles across the ‘Avatar,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Star Trek’ franchises. Johansson sits just behind her at roughly $16.44 billion, powered largely by nearly a decade as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has pointed to Holland’s staying power as central to the studio’s success with the character. “When you find an actor like Tom Holland to bring that character to life, it is the magic formula,” Feige said following ‘Brand New Day’s’ record-breaking opening week.

Much of Holland’s rise traces back to the enduring strength of Spider-Man at the box office. His four solo outings as the character have combined for roughly $5.6 billion, more than double what any of the original trilogy’s actors managed across their solo Marvel runs. ‘Brand New Day’ is still playing in theaters and is widely expected to cross $2 billion worldwide, a feat only seven other films in history have achieved.

With ‘Brand New Day’ still climbing and no major competition on the release calendar through the rest of August, Holland’s total is far from finished growing. Whether he can eventually close the multi-billion-dollar gap separating him from Saldaña and Johansson remains to be seen, but for now, third place looks like it’s his to claim.

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