Colin Jost Reacts After Scarlett Johansson Loses Her Spot as Top-Grossing Star
Scarlett Johansson’s reign as the undisputed queen of the global box office has officially come to an end, and naturally, Saturday Night Live wasn’t going to let the moment pass without a segment.
However, rather than targeting the A-list actress directly for losing her top spot, the sketch comedy show decided to aim its fire at her husband, Colin Jost. During the January 17 broadcast, the Weekend Update anchor found himself the punchline of a brutal financial gag that left the studio audience in stitches.
Jost began the segment by reading a straightforward news update from the cue cards regarding the shifting hierarchy of Hollywood earners. “Zoe Saldaña—who stars in the new Avatar movie—has surpassed Scarlett Johansson to become the highest-grossing actress of all time,” Jost announced to the cameras. As he delivered the line, a professional bar graph appeared on the screen behind him, comparing the lifetime gross earnings of the two superstars.
The graphic showed Johansson trailing slightly behind Saldaña, but Jost, playing the role of the supportive husband, suggested a way to tip the scales back in his wife’s favor. “Okay, well let’s see what happens if you include the box office from Scarlett’s husband’s movies,” he proposed with a confident smirk. The audience watched as the graph updated, accompanied by a cartoonish slide-whistle sound effect that signaled a rapid decline rather than an increase.
To Jost’s feigned horror, Johansson’s total earnings on the chart plummeted from $15.4 billion to $15.1 billion after his filmography was added to the mix. The self-deprecating joke implied that Jost’s movies have somehow lost money or possess negative value compared to his wife’s blockbusters. Jost broke character briefly, laughing in disbelief as he looked around the studio and exclaimed, “It went down?!”
The comedic bit was inspired by real-world data that recently shifted the landscape of blockbuster cinema. Zoe Saldaña officially overtook Johansson following the massive commercial performance of James Cameron’s latest sci-fi epic. The third installment in the franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, has dominated theaters since its release, pushing Saldaña’s numbers to astronomical heights.
By January 12, the film had already raked in $1.23 billion at global box offices, a figure that continues to climb daily as audiences flock to see the next chapter of Pandora. This latest hit brought the total gross of all films featuring Saldaña to a staggering $16.8 billion. Her resume is a checklist of billion-dollar franchises, including the rebooted Star Trek series, Avengers: Endgame, and the original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Prior to this shift, Scarlett Johansson held the top spot securely with a lifetime gross of roughly $16.4 billion. The leaderboard for the highest-grossing actors is currently dominated by faces familiar to fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The rest of the top five slots are occupied by Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Pratt, making it a tight race among the former Avengers co-stars.
This is hardly the first time Jost has used his platform on SNL to make light of his marriage to one of the world’s most famous women. The couple often engages in playful public banter, and Jost rarely misses an opportunity to address her heartthrob co-stars during his segments. In July 2025, he gave a memorable interview to Entertainment Tonight where he addressed a viral moment involving his wife.
The topic was a passionate on-screen kiss shared between Johansson and her co-star Jonathan Bailey in the film Jurassic World Rebirth. Jost joked about the intimacy of the scene, proving he takes the Hollywood nature of their relationship in stride. That film, which revitalized the dinosaur franchise, was a major summer blockbuster that contributed significantly to Johansson’s own box office total.
On the other side of the box office battle, Zoe Saldaña has been busy promoting Avatar: Fire and Ash, which explores new, aggressive clans of Na’vi on Pandora. Directed by James Cameron, the film introduces the “Ash People,” a volcanic tribe that serves as an antagonistic force to the protagonist Sully family. The movie also stars Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver, continuing the narrative that began over a decade ago.
Beyond blockbusters, Johansson has been diversifying her portfolio with more intimate projects and producing roles through her own production company. She remains one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation, holding two Academy Award nominations for Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit. Her work often bridges the gap between high-octane action and character-driven drama.
Colin Jost continues to serve as a head writer for Saturday Night Live, a position he has held for years while anchoring Weekend Update with Michael Che. He has also ventured into film and writing, penning the memoir A Very Punchable Face, which became a New York Times bestseller. Despite the self-deprecating jokes about his box office draw, he remains a central figure in American comedy.
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