Scarlett Johansson 'Disappointed' to Be Highest-Grossing Actress in Hollywood

Last week, we reported that Box Office Mojo released a list of the highest-grossing actors in Hollywood history and that East Ender Scarlett Johansson is the highest-grossing actress. The list indicates that Johansson’s movies have grossed more than $3.3 billion over the course of her career. This is, in part, because of her role as the Black Widow in The Avengers, which was the fifth-highest grossing movie of all time.

Johansson comes in at No. 10 all time on the list of male and female actors, behind the likes of Harrison Ford and Samuel L. Jackson. Johansson was one of eight actresses to make the top 50.

When asked about what it meant to crack the top 10, Johansson had a mixed response.

“It’s exciting to be the only woman in the category,” Johansson told Extra TV before adding, “it’s kind of disappointing, actually, to be the only woman in this category—that was a little bit of a surprise to me.”

Her disappointment is aimed at the lack of female stars on the list, as the list represented yet another hurdle of inequality for female actresses to overcome. As one of the leading ladies of Hollywood, Johansson has begun to increasingly speak out on issues of gender inequality that women face in the film industry and across the nation.

In an interview with Cosmo back in the spring, Johansson said “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.”