Jonathan Bailey officially becomes highest-grossing actor of 2025

Wicked: For Good star Jonathan Bailey has proven he’s very popular indeed, as the star has officially been named as the highest-grossing actor of 2025.

The 37-year-old Brit, lauded this year for his performances as Fiyero in Wicked: For Good and Dr. Henry Loomis inJurassic World Rebirth, is the first publicly gay actor to top the annual box office chart, according to Variety.

Jurassic World Rebirth, released back in June, became one of the hottest films of the summer, grossing more than $869million globally, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of the year.

Wicked: For Good has amassed more than $470million to date, despite only being released towards the end of November.

While Bailey has long been acknowledged for his leading man potential, thanks to his roles in Netflix juggernaut Bridgerton and 2023’s queer historical miniseries Fellow Travelers, his career moved from predominantly small screen to big screen in 2025.

This year was the first year that Bailey had a leading role in more than one cinematic release. He appeared in no fictional TV roles in 2025 – Bridgerton season three aired in 2024, with season four premiering in January – but did appear on stage in London in Richard II.

His roles in two of the year’s biggest blockbuster movies have helped push his status as a global household name. So too have his numerous headline-making outfit and accessory choices – and his undeniable chemistry with his co-stars, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Scarlett Johansson.

In November, he also made history by becoming the first out gay actor to be named PEOPLE’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’. Social media users made it clear that it was a very much deserved title to bestow upon the star.

Though the ascent of Jonathan Bailey’s career points to a film industry that is far more accepting of LGTBQ+ actors, queer stars within it remain divided about whether that is truly the case.

Bailey’s sexuality hasn’t seemed to stunt his success in Hollywood, nor did his explicitly queer role in Fellow Travelers. Yet the bulk of his roles have not been queer; whether he would have achieved as much success if they had been is impossible to know.

Speaking to The Guardian recently, actor Ben Whishaw suggested that gay actors have to be appealing to “heterosexual taste” in order to be hugely successful.

“It’s complicated and probably different for every individual, but I think it’s still something to do with the fact that if you want to be really successful, you have to conform to what is deemed to be heterosexual taste, or something. Or be sexy in a heterosexual way,” he said of why there are few huge, gay Hollywood stars. 

Similarly, EastEnders actor John Partridge, speaking to PinkNews, suggested that even Bailey hasn’t reached the heights of his straight actor counterparts.

“Jonathan Bailey’s not the lead actor in Wicked. He’s number two or number three. You can get to a certain level. Jonathan Bailey has got to a certain level, but he’s not Tom Cruise. He’s not the frontman. That’s what we’re talking about here,” Partridge said.

“You can be the ‘best friend of’. You’re not going to see Jonathan Bailey as James Bond. You’re not.”

Bailey himself has acknowledged that the industry has “changed massively” in terms of the amount of roles for gay actors, and how some gay actors are now welcomed into playing straight roles.

“You have to unlearn a lot of narratives about yourself that the industry tells you,” he told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year.

“There are moments where you have to be excellent just to prove you can do it,” he added, speaking of his role as straight palaeontologist Dr. Henry Loomis in Jurassic World Rebirth.

“There’s the weight of history, and so many brilliant people before me who’ve changed perceptions of sexuality. Any prejudice is something to fight against — and what better way than by playing any kind of character?”

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