Yeap, no need to pinch yourself and wash your face — you read that right! Grossing about $US 2.18 billion, Avengers: Endgame has beaten Titanic at the global box office, becoming the first movie ever to break James Cameron’s 22-year record. Titanic ($US 2.17 billion) which hit the big screens in 1997 was the highest grossing movie of all time worldwide for 12 years. It was James Cameron himself, who finally broke his own record in 2009 with the release of Avatar, which shook the fabric of blockbuster cinema and grossed more than $US 2.7 billion globally.
(Note that this breakdown discounts economic inflation. Adjusted for inflation, Titanic’s $2.17 billion gross in ’97 would translate to approximately $US 3.4 billion in 2019, while Avatar’s $US 2.7 billion gross would approximately be $US 3.3 billion.)
When Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($US 2 billion) failed to outdo both Titanic and Avatar at the global box office, most of us wondered if those records would ever be broken in the near future. That is until Endgame proved to be a completely different beast entirely when it grossed more than $US 1 billion in its opening weekend — the first movie in history to ever accomplish that.
Speaking of smashed records, Endgame which has only been in cinemas for 12 days, is officially the fastest film in history to hit the $US 2 billion mark. The previous record was held by Avatar, which took 47 days to accomplish the same feat. Endgame is also only the fifth movie to join the coveted $US 2 billion club.
This naturally means that Endgame is also the highest grossing superhero movie of all time, beating out the previous record holder, Infinity War ($US 2 billion). Coming in at 3rd place as far as superhero movies are concerned is The Avengers ($US 1.5 billion [ranked 7th overall]), followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron ($US 1.4 billion [ranked 9th overall]) and Black Panther ($US 1.3 billion [ranked 10th overall]).
We still do not know exactly how much Endgame has made specifically in Malaysia as of today. The film had grossed $US 15.1 million (RM 62.5 million) in the country as of 2 May 2019, making it the third highest grossing film in Malaysia, behind Infinity War ($US 17.3 million) and Furious 7 ($US 15.9 million). However, there is no doubt in my mind that the latest numbers (which I estimate will be released by the end of tomorrow) will reveal Endgame as the highest grossing film in the country.
I guess the question on everybody’s mind now is will Endgame be able to dethrone Avatar as the undisputed box office champion? Honestly, it’s still too early to tell. If Endgame was a non-Star Wars December release just like Avatar, I would tell you to bet your entire life savings in Vegas that it would beat the James Cameron fantasy film. People would no doubt watch the movie over and over and over again right up to February or March.
But things are a little bit more tricky this time of the year. The coming weeks will see the release of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, John Wick: Chapter 3, Aladdin and Godzilla: King of Monsters, all of which could deter repeat viewings of Endgame. But hey, crazier things have happened. Nobody expected the 22nd MCU film to gross more than $US 1 billion in its opening weekend, but it did. Nobody expected the finale of the Infinity Saga to rake in more than $US 2 billion in just 12 days, but again, it did. I suggest we buckle up our seatbelts. The next few weeks are gonna be one hell of a ride for box office lovers.
