For decades, James Cameron has been the undisputed king of the world at the all-time box office. The blockbuster titan has long held the top two spots in the list of the most financially successful films ever made, with his own Avatar overtaking previous record holder Titanic nearly a decade ago. But his title finally seems in doubt thanks to a little film called Avengers: Endgame – the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already #2 at the worldwide all-time box office less than two weeks into its run, with a current tally of $2.272 billion. That means it’s pipped Titanic’s $2.187 billion big screen haul – and James Cameron has congratulated Kevin Feige and co in the traditional baton-passing fashion.
To Kevin and everybody at Marvel.
An iceberg sank the real Titanic. It took the Avengers to sink my Titanic*. Everyone here at Lightstorm Entertainment salutes your amazing achievement. You’ve shown that the movie industry is not only alive and well, it’s bigger than ever!*
Jim Cameron.
Of course, this might not be the only note Cameron finds himself writing in the coming weeks – Endgame is only $500 million or so away from beating the top spot currently held by Avatar, which stands at $2.788 billion. And yes, $500 million is a huge amount of money – but considering how much repeat business the MCU’s latest is attracting, that new record is well within its reach.
Want a deep dive on Avengers: Endgame? The Empire Podcast Spoiler Special is out now, featuring the Empire team banging on about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for four solid hours – listen here. All that, plus there’s a live special episode and spoiler interviews with the Russos and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely on the way. In the meantime, here’s a look into how Spider-Man: Far From Home will deal with the events of Endgame.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire on Great Magazines and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.