A place reserved for only a handful of names
Tom Holland has just reached a position that few Hollywood artists can boast. According to information published by Discussing Film, the Briton who plays Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the third highest-grossing actor of all time, considering the combined box office of the films in which he has appeared.
His rise on the list was driven by the performance of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which continues to draw audiences to movie theaters and has pushed the actor's résumé to an unprecedented level in his career.
The size of the spider in his filmography
Since he was chosen to bring Peter Parker to life, Holland has become one of the central pieces of one of the industry's most profitable franchises. The amount of money that sustains this position comes from a string of blockbusters:
- Captain America: Civil War (2016), which introduced the character to the MCU
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), his first solo film
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019), one of the biggest box-office phenomena ever recorded
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which surpassed the US$ 1.9 billion mark
- Uncharted (2022), proof that his commercial appeal does not depend only on the hero's mask
How rankings like this work
Lists of the highest-grossing actors usually add up the gross earnings of each production in which the artist appears, without adjusting for inflation and without considering the size of the role. This means that appearances in huge ensembles, such as those in the Avengers films, count just as much as leading roles.
That is why Holland's achievement is even more striking: he reaches the top 3 in a relatively short period of time, alongside veterans with decades of careers and dozens of titles to their names.
What this milestone represents
More than a number, third place reinforces the commercial weight of the Spider-Man actor in contemporary cinema. The franchise continues to deliver impressive numbers, and the actor's position is likely to become consolidated — or even improve — as the next releases arrive on the big screen.
Meanwhile, the all-time ranking continues to be closely watched by market analysts, who see in Holland's performance a faithful portrait of the dominance of superhero films at the global box office over the last two decades.