After nearly 11 years, The Avengers no longer ranks among the top 10 biggest-grossing movies of all time in the United States.

Between the wreckage of the Battle of New York in The Avengers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America.
After almost 11 years in the top spot, The Avengers were recently knocked out of the top 10 biggest-grossing movies of all time in the United States. The success of the first big Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover film, released in May 2012, altered the franchise’s course forever. The first time audiences saw Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye was the highest movie moment of the year. The Avengers was a smashing success at the box office, earning $1.5 billion worldwide and universal acclaim from moviegoers.

One of the many box office records set by The Avengers has been broken, and it has been almost a decade since the film first appeared in theaters. The Avengers is no longer among the top 10 most-grossing movies of all time in the United States, thanks to the ongoing success of Avatar: The Way of Water at the box office. The Numbers reports that the MCU film’s domestic total of $623,357,910 has surpassed James Cameron’s Avatar sequel, which earned $623,536,460. Even though Avatar: The Way of Water passed The Avengers weeks ago, the former is still one of the top 10 biggest-grossing films of all time around the world.

What’s Happened to the Top 10 Grossing Movies List Since “The Avengers”
The fact that The Avengers is no longer among America’s top 10 biggest-grossing movies is indicative of how much the list has evolved over the past decade. When it was released, the Phase 1 Marvel Cinematic Universe film was the third highest-grossing film of all time, domestically and internationally, after Avatar and Titanic. Franchises like Star Wars, Jurassic World, and Top Gun have all made significant inroads into the list of the top 10 highest-grossing domestic films of all time. For James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water is his third top 10 film.

The success of The Avengers is partly to blame for its falling out of the top tier of domestic box office movies. The film propelled future Marvel Cinematic Universe films to greater success. Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Avengers: Endgame are the four films that Marvel Studios released after The Avengers earned more money at home. If any MCU Phase 1 film came close to breaking box office records, it was Black Panther.

Even though The Avengers had a record-breaking opening weekend in 2012 and continues to do well at the box office today, it is expected to continue its decline from the top spot on the list of highest-grossing films of all time. Ten years ago, earning over $600 million in the United States was quite unusual. However, three films have accomplished this in the last year. There are plenty of other movies coming out in the next few years that will displace The Avengers from the top of the domestic box office. These include the massive MCU Multiverse Saga slate, the new DC Universe slate, the following three Avatar movies, and many more.