UPDATE: Avengers: Endgame has officially passed Titanic in global sales.
Avengers: Endgame has passed the $2 billion mark at the worldwide box office after just 11 days. Since the film premiered in late April, it's been grossing figures that were previously thought to be impossible. Bolstered by unparalleled hype and enthusiastic word-of-mouth, Endgame earned an astonishing $350 million domestically and $1.2 billion globally in its opening weekend, shattering all-time records in the process. It was always expected to do well commercially, but few could have predicted it would do this well.
The unprecedented debut threw longstanding box office conventions out the window and set the stage for Endgame to become the highest-grossing film ever. Anticipated franchise installments such as this tend to be front-loaded since there's buzz and excitement for opening weekend, but Endgame got off to such an incredible start, it's going to be posting huge numbers for the next few weeks. Analysts were projecting it to break more records in its second weekend, and it's done just that.
According to Box Office Mojo, Endgame has now made $2 billion worldwide, becoming just the fifth movie in history to earn that much. It joins Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avengers: Infinity War in this exclusive box office club.
What sets Endgame apart is that it's the fastest to accomplish this feat by a mile. The Force Awakens opened in December 2015 and hit $2 billion in February 2016. Infinity War reached $2 billion in June 2018, roughly two months after its premiere. Endgame did it in a staggering 11 days, serving as yet another illustration of how this is unlike anything in the film industry. The clues were always there (see: Endgame's impressive ticket pre-sale figures), but it goes without saying this is a phenomenal accomplishment and a testament to what Marvel built over the past decade. They took a massive risk by attempting something that had never been done before and ended up making the biggest movie franchise of all-time. And with a plethora of projects coming through the pipeline, they won't be slowing down anytime soon.
As the old saying goes, records are made to be broken, but Endgame's are going to stand for a long time. There will always be major studio tentpoles, but only a select few could be in the same ballpark. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is probably the closest comparison, as it ends the Skywalker saga. However, the Star Wars franchise doesn't have as much pull internationally as Marvel does (particularly in China), so Episode IX won't top Endgame. James Cameron will be back in the conversation next year with Avatar 2, but it remains to be seen how that film fares. Compared to other major franchises, Avatar's pop culture footprint is debatable, and though the sequel should do well, it probably won't post Marvel numbers. Endgame is in a league of its own.
Source: Box Office Mojo
