Zendaya becomes 2026's highest-grossing actor with three blockbusters

Zendaya emerged as 2026’s highest-grossing actor on the strength of three films: Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey and A24’s The Drama. The milestone underscored how one performer can now sit at the center of franchise power, prestige casting and global theatrical revenue at the same time.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day supplied the biggest lift. Forbes reported on August 3, 2026, that the film grossed $360 million in its domestic opening weekend, breaking the record previously held by Avengers: Endgame from 2019. One day later, Forbes said the fourth Spider-Man installment had reached $1 billion worldwide in just six days, making it the second-fastest film ever to hit that mark.

That scale mattered beyond Zendaya alone. Variety reported that Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey combined for the biggest collective box office weekend in history at $430 million, a figure that shows how a small number of large-scale releases can still dominate theatrical business. A PBS NewsHour post said Spider-Man: Brand New Day set the North American opening record with $360 million in the U.S. and Canada, while industry reporting said 2026 box office ticket sales were running roughly 15% above the previous year.

Zendaya’s total was also tied to roles outside the superhero lane. Social coverage said she played Athena in The Odyssey and appeared in The Drama alongside Robert Pattinson earlier in the year. One post said her films had earned nearly $2 billion worldwide so far, while another put The Drama at $132.5 million. The Root said those three movies had already cemented her as 2026’s highest-grossing actor, and a Times of India report linked the result to Tom Holland’s presence in both Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey.

For studios, the numbers point to a business model built less on one-off star vehicles than on repeatable global event films, recognizable intellectual property and cross-platform visibility. Forbes also described Zendaya and Tom Holland as the box office’s highest-grossing couple on August 3, a sign that franchise casting now helps define not just opening weekends but the performers who drive them.