Avengers: Endgame technically is a happy story if you analyze that the superheroes managed to bring back the majority of the humanity and if you exclude the fact that a lot of the beloved characters met their demise in doing so.
For the fans reeling from the unexpected deaths, there’s good news. According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the blockbuster film has earned another achievement that’s worth celebrating.
Spectacular Feat
For 10 years, the James Cameron-directed 2009 sci-fi film Avatar held on to the record as the top-grossing film of all time with a whopping $2.7897 billion sales globally.
Fans of the superhero picture already early on accepted the fact that Endgame was simply awesome in its own right despite not being able to beat the record-holder. But, they spoke too soon.
As per the Marvel Studios official, the movie, which is the culmination of the more than 20-arc that started in 2008, was just $500,000 short to beating the Zoe Saldana-starrer.
Lo and behold, a day after Kevin announced that they will surpass Avatar’s record, the tentpole that is Endgame indeed tallied $2.7902 billion, exceeding the $500,000 needed to break the record. Of course, Disney takes pride in both of the films because it now owns James’ masterpiece after acquiring 21st Century Fox early this year.
This means that seven out of the 10 highest-grossing films are now owned by the House of Mouse. In fact, Avatar sequels are slated for 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027 releases, so it is safe to say that the superhero film can cling on to the record for a while.
Alan Horn, Disney Studios chief creative officer, said that Avatar remains powerful despite premiering 10 years ago. He added that what the accomplishments of both films have shown is that the directors among other driving forces behind the films have so much more for the audience. Lastly, the official hinted on the future of Pandora and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Re-Release
It is worth noting, however, that the increase in global sales happened after Disney decided to re-release Endgame on June 28, perhaps in a bid to snatch the title from Avatar.
The second release features a tribute for the late Stan Lee, a deleted Hulk scene, and a post-credit scene showing the Spider-Man: Far From Home characters. Before this, the Anthony and Joe Russo-directed 2019 film was $37 million short of the 2009 movie’s figure.
At the time, no one believed the re-release would be enough to exceed Avatar’s global sales. Of the impressive feat, the directors of Endgame expressed joy over how their masterpiece played out worldwide and explained that James was an idol who fed their passion for making films.
Record-Holders
Interestingly, there are only five films that crossed the $2-billion benchmark, two of which are Endgame (1st) and Avatar (2nd). On the third spot is James’ 1997 disaster, romantic-drama film Titanic; fourth, J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens; and fifth, Avengers: Infinity War.
Endgame is not only the highest-grossing film of all time, but it also has the biggest domestic box-office opening with $357 million. However, it bowed down to The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing movie domestically with $853 million to $936 million.
