Live television is able to reduce the monumental cultural events to the personal level, and that is what has occurred when Colin Jost discussed a big Hollywood milestone on Saturday Night Live. As though accustomed to being the punch line and the punch line at the same time, Jost responded to word that Zoe Saldana had passed his wife, Scarlett Johansson, to become the highest-grossing all-time star in the history of Hollywood. It may have been a stale industry fact, but it turned out to be a moment of comedy, betrothal and contemporary celebrity, which was enacted in the presence of a studio audience that laughed.
In the Weekend Update part, Jost presented the news in such a calm way that usually leads to the quick punchline. Zoe Saldana, who plays in the new Avatar film, has become the all-time top-grossing actress, he said, allowing the meaning of the words to sink in. Then, as ever leaning to his own self-knowledge, he added, Okay, well see what will happen when you add in the box office of the movies of the husband of Scarlett. The joke hit immediately, not only because it was funny, but because it considered actually one of the facts that Hollywood hardly discusses openly: box office success is not always personal, situational, and sometimes ridiculous.
The change in the visual on screen made the total of Scarlett Johansson reportedly drop to USD 15.4 billion to USD 15.1 billion, which made Jost react and the audience follow suit. It went down, he added laughing, making the scene an obiter remark on his own relatively humble film background. This exchange was successful since it was real. Jost was not trying to defend a record and downplay the success of Saldana. Rather he was doing what SNL had always been good at, making larger than life numbers human.
The achievements of Zoe Saldana to the highest box office list in the world is, by all standards, remarkable. Her rise has also been driven by her extensive partnership with director James Cameron in the franchise Avatar which has been able to reshape more than once again what blockbuster cinema is capable of accomplishing around the globe. The most recent one, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is said to have grossed USD 1.23 billion worldwide by January 12, bringing the total box office earnings of Saldana to around USD 16.8 billion. It is not a one-hit figure, but a life time of solid performances in some of the most powerful franchises in the history of modern cinema.
Outside Avatar, Saldana must have a filmography that reads like a guide to the blockbuster culture of the 21st century. She has played a central role in Star Trek and she has induced emotional depth to a relaunched universe. Her appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe helped to make the film Avengers: Endgame, which in turn became an event in the cultural sphere and one of the best-grossing films in the history of filmmaking. Already in the earlier days of her career, the starring in such movies as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was a boost to a resume, which with time could garner colossal financial power. The interesting thing is not only the magnitude of the earnings, but the regularity with which Saldana has been involved in projects that boom continents wide.
Even after being outperformed, the box office legacy of Scarlett Johansson can still be considered formidable. She was 41 years old and was at the top spot with an estimated USD 16.4 billion in global earnings which was accumulated through a combination of dominance in franchises and individual star power. Her performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially as Black Widow, put her at the heart of one of the most successful experiments in telling stories in movies. In contrast to most actors whose totals are much dependent on the ensemble casts, Johansson also combined blockbusters with performances that were critically acclaimed to become a key of her career, both financially and artistically.
The timeliness of the joke made by Jost was what was heard beyond the studio. The Hollywood has entered the period when the box office records are always being shattered, recalculated, and reset. The appearance of streaming services, international releases, and franchise-driven programs have altered the definition of success. Even in an atmosphere where such achievements as the highest-grossing actor are concerned, they may appear monumental and, yet, oddly detached. The comment made by Jost penetrated that abstraction by basing the statistic on a marriage, a career comparison, and a shared laugh.
It is also a silent revelation as to how the success of Saldana has been met. Instead of giving rise to the rivalry stories, the moment has mostly been approached as the glorification of age and well-calculated career decisions. Saldana has frequently said she would devote her life to long-term projects that fit in with her interests and values despite taking years of dedication. It is not always glamorous, but that has proved to be a very successful strategy in an industry where there is seldom a consistent approach.
In a more general sense, this scene serves to point out the fact that the definition of stardom in Hollywood is still developing. The domination of the box office is not just on opening weekend and single star vehicles any more. It is also becoming more associated with the involvement in large film worlds, which require co-operation, patience and flexibility. This change is seen in both Saldana and Johansson, who have developed their careers that can be successful in shared storytelling worlds and not in realm performances.
Simultaneously, the tone of the Jost SNL piece also inspires the audience not to take those rankings too seriously. Financial accountants may alter with the next release, the next world wide hit, or even a re-release many years later. The timeless nature is the cultural influence of the performances in themselves and how the audiences relate to them in the long term.
