‘Avengers: Endgame’ just beat ‘Avatar’ at the box office to become the highest-grossing movie of all time

In spite of its stunning opening weekend haul, it seemed like Avengers: Endgame might not be able to dethrone Avatar and become the highest-grossing movie of all time. Marvel a few weeks ago re-released the film with bonus material, but experts agreed that overtaking Avatar might be difficult without a second re-release at some point. Then, with a few days to go until San Diego Comic-Con, it looked like Endgame might have a shot a winning even without that re-re-release.

Well guess what: During Marvel’s big night at SDCC 2019 on Saturday, the studio announced that it has finally beat James Cameron’s legendary space adventure.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed the news as he took the stage at SDCC for Marvel’s panel, albeit without revealing actual numbers. Projections place Endgame ahead of Avatar in box office rankings, with a lead of about $2 million at the time of this writing. That’s $2.790 billion for Avengers 4 compared to $2.788 billion for Avatar.

“Thanks to you, Avengers: Endgame is the biggest film of all-time,” Feige told Hall H, per Deadline.

The Russo brothers, who directed Endgame and other high-grossing MCU films including Avengers: Infinity War and Captain America: Civil War which for a combined $3.2 billion at the box office combined, took to Twitter to confirm the news.

To the greatest fans in the universe, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you…https://t.co/MRKEKaKvVW

— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 21, 2019

“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,” Disney Studios co-chairman and chief creative officer Alan Horn said in a statement, while still praising Avatar, now a Disney property that has four sequels in the works.

He continued, “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.”

Cameron will have a chance to hit back at the Avengers franchise in a couple of years starting on December 17th, 2021, which is when Avatar 2 is set to be released. But if you ask us, Cameron doesn’t stand a chance.