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SYFY WIRE Box Office

Oh, snap! Avengers: Endgame has unseated Avatar as highest-grossing movie of all time

By Josh Weiss
Tony Stark Avengers Endgame

We thought it was — to quote Thanos, "inevitable" — and we were right! Avengers: Endgame has broken the ultimate box office record and dethroned James Cameron's Avatar ($2.7897 billion) as the highest-grossing global film of all time with $2.7892 billion globally, Variety has confirmed.

“A huge congratulations to the Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios teams, and thank you to the fans around the world who lifted Avengers: Endgame to these historic heights,” Alan Horn, Disney co-chairman and chief creative officer, said in a statement published by Variety. “Of course, even with the passage of a decade, the impact of James Cameron’s Avatar remains as powerful as ever, and the astonishing achievements of both of these films are ongoing proof of the power of movies to move people and bring them together in a shared experience. The talented filmmakers behind these worlds have much more in store, and we look forward to the future of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Pandora.”

"To the greatest fans in the universe, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you..." wrote directors, Joe and Anthony Russo on Twitter.

Cameron, who was big enough to recognize the film when it surpassed Titanic's gross in May, genially ceded the coveted heavyweight belt over to Marvel, writing: "Congratulations to Avengers: Endgame on becoming the new box office king." The accompanying image shows Iron Man surrounded by the jellyfish-like woodsprites from Avatar.

A few weeks ago, Marvel Studios held the "Bring Back" event which included certain bonus content after the film's end credits. While many lost hope for a broken record when ticket sales for the "re-release" wasn't enough to conquer Avatar, it turns out the penultimate entry to Phase 3 of the MCU had enough "OOMPH!" in its proverbial tanks to snap its fingers, break the worldwide box office record, defeat Cameron, and retire to its humble farm to watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.

Having amassed $853 million domestically, Endgame finished its theatrical run as the second-highest grossing North American movie in history after Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens ($963.6 million). From foreign markets, the fourth Avengers installment raked in $1.9 billion, with a good chunk of that total coming from China ($614 million).

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War centers on an ambitious Hail Mary time travel plan via the Quantum Realm to undo the mass genocide Thanos (Josh Brolin) committed by using all six of the Infinity Stones. As the remaining Avengers head to the past in order to collect the Stones (Thanos had destroyed them in the modern day), the audience got to revisit some of the biggest MCU moments of the last 11 years.

Endgame arrives on digital platforms Thursday, July 30. It hits 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and On-Demand Thursday, August 13. More details on the home release can be found here.