Robert Downey Jr. Breaking This Box Office Record Is Easier Than Ever Thanks To Missing Avengers: Doomsday Characters

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After 2008, Robert Downey Jr. rose to become one of Hollywood’s leading stars. His role in Iron Man revitalized his career and propelled him to new heights of fame. With each subsequent appearance as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Downey Jr. earned increasingly larger salaries, and the massive success of those films justified the cost.

Robert Downey Jr.’s films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have made a combined total of $12.1 billion worldwide. This represents most of the $14.3 billion earned from all the movies where he’s had a leading role. That impressive number is expected to grow even more with his upcoming role in Avengers: Doomsday as Doctor Doom, and it could potentially make him the highest-grossing actor of all time.

Robert Downey Jr. Only Trails His MCU Co-Stars At The Box Office

Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most commercially successful actors, especially when considering only the films where he played a main role. From 1983 to 2025, movies he starred in have earned a total of $16.2 billion, with $14.3 billion coming from projects where he was a lead actor or part of a leading ensemble. This puts him ahead of other top stars like Chris Pratt, Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, and Johnny Depp in terms of box office revenue for leading roles.

Currently, the only actors who’ve earned more at the box office are his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) colleagues. Zoe Saldaña, who played Gamora, leads with an impressive $15.6 billion in total earnings – a number that continues to grow thanks to the success of Avatar: Fire and Ash. Right behind her is Scarlett Johansson, known for her role as Black Widow, with $15.4 billion.

As a movie fan, I was looking at box office numbers the other day, and it’s interesting. Robert Downey Jr. is currently listed as the fourth highest-grossing actor, but I honestly think he deserves to be third. Samuel L. Jackson is listed in third with a whopping $14.6 billion, but a big chunk of that – $2.7 billion – comes from Avengers: Endgame. And let’s be real, he’s barely in that movie – one scene, no lines! If you take Endgame out of the equation, Downey Jr. would easily jump ahead of him. It just feels a little unfair as it stands.

Avengers: Doomsday Can Give Robert Downey Jr. The Record Thanks To Absent MCU Stars

Downey is likely to become number one on this list thanks to the cast of Avengers: Doomsday. He’s just $1.3 billion short of surpassing Saldaña’s earnings.

It’s hard to predict exactly how much money Doomsday will make, but every Avengers movie has earned more than that amount, so that’s likely the minimum it will achieve. If it reaches that level, Robert Downey Jr. will have earned more overall from his Marvel movies than any of his co-stars.

It’s not certain Samuel L. Jackson will return as Nick Fury. Even if he does make an appearance, it’s unlikely to be a major role in Doomsday – not big enough to consider him a leading character.

Scarlett Johansson has repeatedly stated she’s finished playing Black Widow. While Chris Evans has reprised his role as Captain America, there’s no indication Natasha Romanoff will be returning. However, a brief appearance in Avengers: Secret Wars could potentially set up a future return if Marvel decides to bring the original Avengers back for one final adventure.

It’s highly likely that Saldaña won’t be in Doomsday either. Since Gamora has left the Guardians of the Galaxy, it would be difficult to naturally incorporate her character even if Rocket’s team or Star-Lord make an appearance.

With the upcoming release of Avengers: Doomsday, Robert Downey Jr. is poised to become the highest-grossing actor of all time. Unless the movie performs surprisingly poorly, or The Super Mario Bros. Movie significantly exceeds its earnings—by around $160 million—he’s likely to hold the top spot by 2027.

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2026-01-27 17:00