‘Marvel Avengers Assemble’ becomes third biggest film of all time, while ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is the 11th film in history to pass $1 billion!

While this summer has been a relatively poor one in terms of box office takings, two films have stood out above everything else, and both have now gone on to break records.

First up is Disney and Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, which has now become the third highest money making film in Hollywood history, behind Titanic and Avatar. The film was already huge, however Disney’s decision to re-release the film in 1705 theatres across the US for last weekends four day Labor Day Weekend has seen the superhero classic earn a further $2.2 million over the four days. This now puts The Avengers Assemble figures for in the US alone at a staggering $620.1 million, and with the rest of the world seeing Joss Whedon’s movie taking $882.3 million, this now puts The Avengers total worldwide gross of £1501.8 million. Both Titanic and Avatar managed to pass the $2 billion mark, but the Avengers sits comfortably in third place with $1.5 billion, a massive achievement.

The Avengers Assemble is not the third film in history to pass the $1 billion threshold however, and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises has now become the 11th film in history to pass the $1 billion mark! While there are actually twelve films to pass the $1 billion mark, Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures (who released The Dark Knight Rises) refuse to allow for films which have been re-released in 3D thus gaining more money from being post-converted and released a second time. I agree, and so this would mean excluding Star Wars: The Phantom Menace from the list, thus making the third film in Nolan’s Batman trilogy the 11th to pass the massive $1 billion.

However, with a slow start to its release, thanks in some way to the tragic events in Aurora, it was thought that The Dark Knight Rises may even struggle to top Nolan’s previous Batman film, The Dark Knight. Yet, after last weekends figures, The Dark Knight Rises has now earned a respectful $431.4 million in the US, with a further $577.7 around the rest of the world, putting The Dark Knight Rises’ worldwide gross at $1.01 billion. The Dark Knight finished on $1.0003 billion, but The Dark Knight Rises is still going strong, and still high up in top ten cinema takings around the world. With September set to be a quiet month, and with not a lot of big competition, The Dark Knight Rises is likely to run at least until October, meaning it still has a lot of money to make.

For your convenience, here is the current list for the twenty top grossing films of all time, courtesy of BoxOffice Mojo

By Matt Wavish