James Cameron is no longer “King of the World.”
Earlier this week, Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” passed Cameron’s “Titanic” on the list of highest grossing movies at the worldwide box office. In honor of that accomplishment, Cameron graciously tipped his hat to Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel for breaking a record few thought could ever be broken.
“An iceberg sank the real Titanic. It took the Avengers to sink my ‘Titanic,’” Cameron wrote along with an image of the Avengers logo capsizing the iconic boat. “Everyone here at Lightstorm Entertainment salutes your amazing achievement. You’ve shown that the movie industry is not only alive and well, it’s bigger than ever.”
The only movie that still has “Avengers: Endgame” beat at the global box office is “Avatar,” which is also conveniently directed by Cameron. Though “Endgame” will likely topple that film too, as it’s only entering its third weekend of release.
And that’s true of the worldwide box office numbers even if you adjust for inflation. “Avatar” and “Titanic” are numbers two and three on that all-time list, each grossing over $3 billion adjusted dollars, but there’s a slight chance “Endgame” might even topple the all-time record holder, “Gone With the Wind” at $3.7 billion.
Cameron has thrown a little shade Marvel’s way in the past, saying that he hoped audiences might get “Avengers fatigue” before long.
“Not that I don’t love the movies. It’s just, come on guys, there are other stories to tell besides hyper-gonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process. It’s like, oy,” Cameron said.
Cameron has another reason to be peeved, too. With Disney recently acquiring Fox, Cameron’s “Avatar” films are now the property of Disney. And this week, all four of Cameron’s “Avatar” sequels were delayed by between one to two years, spaced out every Christmas between new “Star Wars” films.
But if anyone can take the throne back from “Avengers” and Marvel some day, it’s Cameron. See his tweet below:
— James Cameron (@JimCameron) May 9, 2019