Avengers: Endgame Is Closer to Passing Avatar Worldwide Than Passing Star Wars: The Force Awakens at Domestic Box Office

Avengers: Endgame served as the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, which kicked off in 2008 with Iron Man. Advanced projections of the film's box office confirmed that it would be one of the biggest cinematic events of the decade, with the film's release resulting in a number of box office records being shattered. The film's current financial trajectory could put it on pace to topple Avatar's all-time gross, though it's still falling short of other records it was expected to break. While the global interest in Endgame could see the film passing Avatar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens still has a stronger domestic total, a record which the MCU film could fall short of.

According to Box Office Mojo, Avengers: Endgame's weekend earnings puts the film at $2.683 billion worldwide with Avatar sitting at $2.788, $105 million ahead of the Marvel film. Domestically, however, Endgame sits at $803.6 million domestically, which is $133 million short of The Force Awakens' $936.6 million.

All these numbers paint an interesting picture of the ways in which the global box office has changed over the past decade. As the scope of blockbuster films have increased over the years, studios have altered their release strategies to respect international markets and the impact they can have on the box office. A film like Avatar is far more accessible to international audiences, given how a majority of the dialogue is subtitled which multiple regions could easily compensate for. Additionally, films with more diverse casts have seen bigger box office returns when it comes to international markets.

Another change that studios have made in their release strategies is releasing films earlier in international markets. Some reports claim that this is due to the prevalence in pirating films in the U.S., resulting in films being in various major markets ahead of their domestic debut.

Despite the Star Wars series being a dominating force of pop culture for more than 40 years, the film doesn't have the same passionate following in all corners of the globe. In China, for example, the series wasn't available until the '90s and never made a major dent on the culture. With a film like Star Wars: The Last Jedi being the eighth chapter in the Skywalker Saga, it turns off many audiences who aren't as familiar, as catching up on the seven previous installments is a daunting task, which resulted in that film falling short of financial expectations in that country.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now.

Which of these records do you think the latest MCU film could break? Let us know in the comments below!