$1.2 billion worldwide. Both of those figures, obviously, were new opening weekend records - completely blowing everything else out of the water. A month later, Endgame's gross still seems unfathomable. Some movies are considered wildly successful if they make $1.2 billion their entire time in theaters.
Unsurprisingly, Endgame quickly climbed up the all-time charts, and was on pace to beat the 2009 sci-fi epic, but it remains to be seen if it can accomplish that feat. Stateside, Endgame is only behind fellow Disney smash Star Wars: The Force Awakens - though that race doesn't seem as close as the global one. The signs are pointing to Star Wars keeping the domestic crown by the time Endgame bows out of theaters.
Prior to Endgame, The Force Awakens was this generation's monumental cinematic event. It's impossible to overstate just how huge and hotly-anticipated this movie was during the lead-up in 2015. This was the return of Star Wars, one of pop culture's most iconic touchstones that is ed down through multiple generations. It was the long-awaited Episode VII, featuring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher in their iconic roles once again (ing the torch to a younger cast that would carry the saga forward). The Force Awakens also came out more than a decade after Revenge of the Sith, so there was pent-up demand and fervent enthusiasm to return to the galaxy far, far away. The hype for Force Awakens was unparalleled, and it made $936.6 million domestically.
The Force Awakens also came out in December, and spent a majority of its run feasting on weak January competition. That gives it a distinct advantage over Endgame, which premiered at the outset of the summer movie season and faced very high-profile offerings in May. From a commercial standpoint, nothing Force Awakens went up against compared to Godzilla: King of the Monsters entering the multiplex.
Through box office stats as of May 19, 2019, Endgame needs $165.3 million domestically to match Force Awakens. Considering the former's gargantuan totals, that seems like chump change, but at this stage in its release, it's a considerable sum it probably won't reach. This past weekend, Endgame made $29.9 million, and it'll only keep sliding down from here. Not only are there big studio films like the aforementioned Aladdin and Godzilla, projects like Rocketman will likely appeal to their specific niches, giving people a glut of options to choose from as the weather heats up. Endgame dominated the spotlight and seized the zeitgeist, but its moment is close to done, and it'll fall short of reaching Star Wars' lofty total.
