It’s impossible for any fan to be displeased with how Avengers: Endgame performed financially. The star-studded superhero movie has broken all sorts of records as its surpassed virtually every other film on its way to box office history. That is, every movie except one.
Avatar still stands in the way of the MCU’s crown jewel becoming the highest-grossing feature of all-time. A couple of days ago, it seemed inevitable that Avengers: Endgame would storm past James Cameron’s science fiction masterpiece. Now, however, it looks like the Russo brothers movie may putter out before it comes close to toppling the reigning champ.
Currently, Avatar is still in first with a gross of $2.8 billion, while Avengers: Endgame is in a distant second with $2.4 billion. The latter flick might still have a chance to make that up, but the approaching onslaught of summer blockbusters definitely doesn’t bode well for Marvel fans.
While no one can scoff at the extremely impressive numbers the MCU has managed to put up, it’ll be somewhat of a disappointment if the latest film doesn’t finish its run in first place. Avengers: Endgame had over twenty movies building up to this grand finale. Avatar, on the other hand, came basically out of nowhere and featured far fewer stars.
Marvel will continue to crank out superhero movies, but will still have to compete with the powerhouse franchises of Star Wars and, to a lesser extent, Fast and Furious. Meanwhile, it looks like Avatar is finally gearing up to continue telling stories well into the future. The MCU will have to continue elevating its product if it wants to maintain its stranglehold on the box office.
The bigger winner in all of this though is, of course, Disney. The studio owns practically all Marvel, Star Wars and Avatar properties. So regardless of whether or not Avengers: Endgame passes the current champion, the Mouse House will come out on top.
