China could push Avengers: Endgame past Avatar to become box office king

If Avengers avoids Star Wars’ fate in China, Endgame could become the biggest movie in history

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While Star Wars struggles in China, Marvel’s superhero movies are massively popular there. (Picture: Marvel Studios)

Published: 8:34pm, 29 Apr 2019Updated: 9:02am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

For nearly a decade, Avatar has worn the crown for the biggest box office take in history. Now Avengers: Endgame, the epic conclusion of a story first teased seven years ago, finally has a chance to overtake the James Cameron flick thanks to Chinese moviegoers.

China is now a critical component to the global success of any blockbuster movie. And the country’s growing importance is clearly seen in the success of the latest Avengers film.

In just two days, Endgame earned more in China than Avatar’s entire run in the country. During its five-day opening, starting on April 24, the movie grossed US$330.5 million while Avatar “only” made US$204 million.

Not all franchises get so lucky in China.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens seemed to have a chance to top Avatar when it opened in 2015. It broke the record for the domestic box office in the US, but it failed to connect with Chinese moviegoers. The film only pulled in an eighth of what it made in the US, finishing its run with the third largest global box office.

The Avengers have also fought this fight before, with Infinity War nabbing more than US$2 billion at the box office last year. That was still not enough to knock Avatar off its perch as James Cameron’s movie gobbled up a whopping US$2.78 billion during its run at the end of 2009 and into 2010. Infinity War now stands as the fourth biggest film.

But… we are in the Endgame now. And China is, once again, key to the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ potential triumph over the Pandorans.