It was clear from opening weekend that simply being another massive Marvel Cinematic Universe hit wasn't going to be good enough for Avengers: Endgame. The film had its sights set on becoming the highest grossing movie of all-time. While it wasn't always clear that the movie would reach that goal, a boost in box office that came from adding some post credits content appears to have done its job as Endgame became the biggest movie of all-time over the weekend.
Not to be a spoiled sport, the official Avatar Twitter account has posted a congratulations to Marvel. James Cameron himself signed the note to the movie that finally, after a decade, toppled Avatar as the highest grossing movie in the world. Check it out.
The image shows Iron Man experiencing the wonder that is Pandora. It takes a moment from the film experienced by hero Jake Sully and puts Robert Downey Jr.'s character in his place.
James Cameron has spent a long time at the top of the box office. When Avatar became the highest grossing movie of all-time it took the spot from 1997's Titanic. Cameron sent Marvel Studios another congratulatory tweet several weeks ago when Endgame overtook that record. While Disney as a company has almost always been a strong box office performer, neither Marvel Studios nor a new Star Wars movie was ever able to overcome Cameron's one-two punch at a global level until now.
Of course, box office numbers can be broken down a million different ways, and this one record, while big, doesn't make Avengers: Endgame the king of all box office. These numbers are, of course, not adjusted for inflation, and a decade's worth of inflation adds up to a not insubstantial amount of money. Endgame is just under $20 million behind Avatar if you adjust the numbers for inflation, and even then, Endgame is competing for 15th position on the all-time list, not first.
Avengers: Endgame is also not the highest grossing domestic movie of all time. That honor still goes to Star Wars: The Force Awakens which still has about an $80 million lead on the MCU,
Still, considering that even without inflation, Avatar held this record for a decade, it's an impressive feat for Endgame to have finally taken the top spot. The Russo Brothers themselves understand just how big a deal it is. They thanked the accomplished director with a tweet of their own.
Of course, now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, it also owns the Avatar franchise, so while Disney might not have made that record breaking box office initially, every dollar that does come in now goes to Uncle Walt. Considering the fact that it has been so long since the first Avatar came out, and there are several sequels on the way, one wonders if there might not be an Avatar re-release before Avatar 2 hits theaters. Perhaps Avatar will have a chance to take its record back.
