After grossing $1.2 billion worldwide in its opening weekend, the film “Avengers: Endgame” crushed the all-time record for the highest-grossing opening weekend.
Its predecessor, “Avengers: Infinity War,” holds the second spot on this list at $640 million, which is roughly half what its sequel earned.
This latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has sold out in theaters all over America. Some opening-day tickets were reportedly sold second hand at prices ranging from $60 to an absurd $10,000.
“Avengers: Endgame” also set the record for most successful international opening, grossing $859 million overseas.
And it may be more than just hype that is fueling the film’s success. The movie currently has a 95 percent critics’ approval rating on the film review site, Rotten Tomatoes.
After such a successful opening weekend and record box office receipts since the film’s April 26 debut, “Avengers: Endgame” could set a new record for the highest-grossing movie of all time. James Cameron’s “Avatar” currently occupies the top spot after earning a record-setting $2.8 billion following its 2009 release.
Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com said, “We’re watching a monumental moment in the history of cinema unfold — one that the entire world is experiencing together.”
Marvel Studios has been buzzing since the release of “Iron Man” in 2008. Over the last 11 years, the buzz only seemed to grow as new movies continued to come out every year. With a loyal and growing fanbase, Marvel worked to outdo each of its previous movies.
Now, as the current saga of Marvel superhero movies comes to an end, the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a very high standard to reach.
As of May 5, “Endgame” had grossed nearly $2.18 billion, enough to move into second place on the list of highest-grossing movies of all time. It must reach $2.79 billion to take the first-place spot. The top three movies on the list are “Avatar,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Titanic.” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Avengers: Infinity War” hold the fourth and fifth-place spots respectively.
The 22nd movie in the MCU certainly has the necessary hype to surpass the box office giant of James Cameron’s “Avatar.” With so many successful previous installments, it’s easy for MCU fans to see why the latest and last movie in Marvel’s four phases has been so successful.
“Avengers: Infinity War” set up its sequel by killing off half of the universe. If “Avengers: Endgame” finishes the year at the same pace as “Avengers: Infinity War,” it will likely surpass “Avatar.”
The monumental success of “Avengers: Endgame” shows how invested fans have become in the Marvel Universe. Spanning over four phases, Marvel has released 22 movies in its main canon, grossing nearly $20 billion since 2008. Marvel’s most recent movie is the most successful of them all.
Only time will tell if the film can reach the top spot. Other films in the top five were released in December, when box office sales are typically higher. Both “Avenger” titles in the top five were released in April.
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