Avengers: Endgame is currently fresh off the biggest opening weekend of all time, grossing a worldwide total of $1.224 billion that crushes the previous record of $640.5 million set by Avengers: Infinity War. On that note, the time feels right to commence the speculation on whether or not the Marvel megahit could go all the way, and dethrone Avatar as the highest-grossing film ever made.
It’s surely worth noting that Endgame is currently pacing well ahead of James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi. On its first weekend, Avatar managed a worldwide total of $241.6 million, which currently ranks as only the 48th biggest debut of all time. Nonetheless, the film managed to sustain its success to a remarkable degree, and ended its run with a total gross of $2.788 billion. Needless to say, Endgame still has a long way to go, and now that the spoiler-conscious Marvel fans have all rushed to the theaters to see how the MCU’s current era comes to a close, you have to wonder what sort of drop we can expect on the second weekend.
It’s now been almost a decade since Avatar first arrived in cinemas, and while inflation over the years makes it easier for newer films to cross the $1 billion mark, consumers also have a much wider array of choices for their entertainment. Streaming services like Netflix expand the cultural landscape, making it harder for any one film to dominate the conversation in a way that Avatar once did. What’s more, while Avatar came out in December when competition was fairly low, Endgame will have to sustain its momentum in the face of new releases like Detective Pikachu, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Aladdin and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
In short, Avengers: Endgame’s place at the top of the all-time rankings isn’t ensured just yet, but you can still expect the film to do some staggering numbers in the coming weeks.
