Asked about the possibility of a film dislodging Avatar and Avengers: Endgame from their place as leaders at the international box office, Joe Russo – the director of Endgame – replied that it was impossible.
In June 2019, The Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Endgame passed James Cameron’s Avatar and became the highest-grossing international box office of all time with $2.79 billion. But in June 2021, thanks to its release in China, Avatar regained the lead with 2.80 billion dollars in revenue worldwide. A record that has remained unequaled until now.
Will James Cameron beat his own record with Avatar 2, which is scheduled for release on December 14?
Joe Russo, one of the directors of Avengers: Endgame thinks it’s impossible. Asked by variety On the possibility of a film coming to surpass Endgame, the director was adamant:
This will never happen again. It was the height of the theatrical movie era. When we launched AGBO (Editor’s note: the Russo brothers’ production studio), we already felt that the tide was turning.
This statement comes as cinemas have had more and more difficulty attracting audiences since the Covid 19 pandemic. But the releases of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (the 1st opus totaled $1.3 billion in world) and especially Avatar: The Way of the Water could revive the film industry.
Will Secret Wars do as well as Endgame?
The penultimate film of Phase 3 of the MCU, Avengers: Endgame marked the climax of a first Marvel era, and the conclusion of the narrative arc of historical superheroes like Iron Man.
If fans are impatiently awaiting Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (in 2025) and Secret Wars (2026), there is indeed little chance that these films will exceed the score of Endgame.
These works will be worn by new superheroes whose solo films have not yet proven themselves at the box office (unlike Iron Man, Captain America and Thor). So it’s relatively unlikely that Endgame’s box office could be beaten by another MCU Phase 6 Avengers movie.
On the other hand, the appetite of the public for the continuation of Avatar could well prove Joe Russo wrong.