Looking at how muchAvengers: Endgame’s box office beats The Dark Knight’s own by makes the 2019MCUmovie’s financial results even more staggering. 2019’s major Marvel blockbuster was naturally a huge deal forthe MCU timeline, and remains as such to this day, serving as a testament to what’s possible for superhero films in multiple ways.
Not only doesAvengers: Endgamemanage to tie together a huge number of stories and arcs into one satisfying movie, it also broke new ground in terms of its box office results. The sheer magnitude of its success is ever more clear after comparing it to one of the superhero genre’s first major box office success stories.
It’s No Secret Avengers: Endgame’s Box Office Is Huge
As thebiggest movie in the entire MCU- and arguably the entire history of superhero movies altogether - it’s no surprise thatAvengers: Endgamedid well financially. If anything,Avengers: Endgamedid so well that it’s hard to ground its box office results in a way that truly puts them in perspective, since its takings are so enormous.
Avengers: Endgame’s worldwide box office came to a colossal $2.7 billion(as perThe Numbers), making it one of the biggest of all time. Indeed,Avengers: Endgame’s results also bestow it the title of the second highest-grossing movie in history, coming in at just over $200 million less than Avatar and its own $2.9 billion results (viaBox Office Mojo).
As such, it’s borderline impossible to overstate the significance ofAvengers: Endgameand the way it demonstrated the financial heights the superhero genre is capable of. That said, comparing the film’s box office results to another genre-defining release helps to put things in more context.
Comparing Avengers: Endgame’s Box Office To The Dark Knight’s Shows Just How Colossal Its Results Really Are
The Dark Knightis still one of the most genre-defining superhero movie released to date. Christian Bale’s Batman defined one of the biggest superheroes of all time in a major way, bringing the character and his mythos into the modern day with a more grounded take on the lore that clearly influenced many other superhero films going forward.
Unsurprisingly, givenBatman Beginsestablished the popularity of this version of the character - andThe Dark Knightset up Batman against his most popular nemesis, the Joker -The Dark Knightsaw some considerable financial success. In fact,The Dark Knightis the first superhero movie to have surpassed the $1 billion mark.
With 2008’sThe Dark Knightmaking just over $1 billion in its worldwide box office (as perThe NumbersandBox Office Mojo), its results were a huge deal for the superhero genre, and foreshadowed 2012’s $1+ billion results forThe AvengersandThe Dark Knight Rises. This makes it all the more interesting to compare withAvengers: Endgame.
ThoughThe Dark Knightproved that superhero movies could reach these kinds of box office heights, the movie’s financial results are still a long way offAvengers: Endgame’s own. Indeed, when compared directly,Avengers: Endgame’s worldwide box office is over doubleThe Dark Knight’s own.
At $2.7 billion,Avengers: Endgame’s box office is $300 million off being three timesThe Dark Knight’s results.
GivenThe Dark Knightis still to this day one of the superhero genre’s highest-grossing films, the factEndgame’s box office is not far off triple the 2008 movie’s own puts things in some clear - if somewhat intense - context. While intense, this does make sense given the backdrop behind both movies.
How Avengers: Endgame’s Box Office Managed To Be Over Double The Dark Knight’s Own
The Dark Knight’s box office is still an undeniably huge feat, especially because it paved the way for so many other superhero movies to reach similar heights. However, it’s also this exact thing that arguably plays a role in the movie making what it did and no higher, since the superhero genre’s cinematic strength hadn’t been tested as much here as it had byEndgame.
That said, it’s also worth noting that the two movies had substantially different build-up times in their respective series.The Dark Knightwas the second installment inChristopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and as such was only set up byBatman Begins. Comparatively,Endgamehad over a decade of MCU build-up.
WithAvengers: Endgamebeing the finale of sorts of the Infinity Saga - and the culmination of over 20 movies building up to this point in the MCU timeline - it’s easy to see how the 2019 movie built such a colossal result. This is especially true givenEndgamewas a huge movie for all of the MCU’s heroes, rather than one alone.
That same concept would also explain whyThe Dark Knight Risesmade slightly more thanThe Dark Knight’s own box office results, as people were that bit more invested in seeing the conclusion to the trilogy in much the same sense. However, that doesn’t stopThe Dark Knightfrom being an important part of superhero movie history, much asAvengers: Endgameitself is.
Avengers: Endgame
Cast
Avengers: Endgame, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, concludes the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga. It follows the remaining Avengers as they attempt to reverse the destruction caused by Thanos, navigating complex dynamics and forging alliances to restore balance to the universe.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the second installment in the Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale as Batman. Released in 2008, the film follows Batman’s alliance with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent as they combat the organized crime that threatens Gotham, facing the menacing Joker.
