Avengers: Endgame breaks all-time box-office record

LOS ANGELES - Superhero blockbuster Avengers: Endgame has officially become the biggest movie of all time, Disney confirmed on Sunday, ending the 10-year reign of James Cameron's Avatar.

The epic finale to Marvel's 22-movie Infinity Saga story-arc took in an estimated $1.5 million at home and abroad in its 13th weekend to bring its total since its April 26 release to $2.7902 billion.

Released in 2009, Avatar made $2.7897 billion, including its original theatrical run and various rereleases.

Marvel Studios and its parent company, Disney, preempted the announcement on Saturday, revealing that Endgame was just $500,000 behind as of Friday, and would "close this gap by tomorrow".

The coronation of Endgame was timed to coincide with the appearance of Marvel president Kevin Feige at San Diego Comic-Con, the world's biggest pop culture fan convention.

"You have to shout out to James Cameron, who held that title for a long time," Feige said.

"If you adjust for inflation he still holds the title, and he'll probably get the title again as soon as he puts out another movie. But for right now ...Avengers: Endgame is the biggest film of all time."

Cameron congratulated Avengers: Endgame on Monday for beating his film Avatar to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.

"'Oel ngati kameie', I see you Marvel," Cameron wrote, using a greeting in the fictional Na'vi language of Pandora, the alien moon in Avatar.

"Congratulations to Avengers Endgame on becoming the new box-office king," he added in a tweet showing an image of Marvel's Iron Man surrounded by Pandoran "woodsprite" plants.

Both franchises are now owned by Disney following its takeover of 21st Century Fox.

Endgame drew a sky-high 94 percent rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website and features a star-studded cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper and Josh Brolin.

The fourth installment of the Avengers franchise, with its epic cast of characters, cost around $500 million to make, including marketing costs.

It set a new standard for Hollywood blockbusters in its opening weekend with stunning hauls of $357 million in North America and $1.2 billion worldwide.

Packed with spectacular fight scenes, special effects, gags and tear-jerking moments, it almost doubled the previous world record opening weekend box-office take held by its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War.

Among the many other superlatives thrown in Marvel's direction, Endgame was the widest release in North American history, showing on 4,662 screens in the United States and Canada.

Disney co-chairman Alan Horn thanks "fans around the world who lifted Avengers: Endgame to these historic heights".

"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," he adds.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily Global 07/25/2019 page16)