Rather amazingly, Avengers: Endgame just set another box office record. It's something of a record by default, but a record nonetheless. The massive Marvel Cinematic Universe hit has officially crossed the $2.8 billion mark at the global box office, making it the first movie in history to do so. Granted, it was already the highest-grossing movie ever, so it was a given that no other movie had hit that mark. But it puts a little more distance between Avengers: Endgame and any other movie that may have its sights set on the record in the future. Like Avatar, for example.

But how is it possible that a movie that has been out of theaters for months managed to set a new box office record? Well, according to a new report, some unreported box office dollars were recently discovered from China, to the tune of $3 million. That puts Avengers: Endgame at $2.8008 billion globally. That includes $853.3 million domestically and $1.94 billion from international markets.

James Cameron's massive 2009 sci-fi hit Avatar had held the all-time global box office record for nearly a decade with $2.74 billion. At the time, that number was truly unfathomable, as even crossing the $1 billion mark was far less common. It seemed, especially after Star Wars: The Force Awakens failed to get anywhere near that total, that Avatar may hold the record forever. Yet, Avengers: Endgame, which served as the culmination of an entire decade of MCU storytelling, managed to generate enough global interest to get the job done.

However, Marvel's record may not be safe for long. It's not so much that any new release, not even Avatar 2, is likely to make more than $2.8 billion. Rather, Avatar could easily reclaim the crown. Disney is now in control of the franchise following the merger with Fox last year. With Avatar 2 set to arrive in 2021, the studio will surely want to give audiences the chance to become familiar with the first movie again. As such, it seems probable that an Avatar re-release will take place sometime between now and December 2021. All the movie would need to do is generate roughly $60 million at the box office and the record would belong to James Cameron once again.

Be that as it may, what Avengers: Endgame managed to accomplish is nothing shy of stunning. Even by Marvel standards. It became a true global pop culture event, especially after the cliffhanger we were left with in Infinity War. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo pulled off something miraculous and that $2.8 billion total truly speaks to what they and the folks at Marvel Studios created. When Avatar inevitably takes the record back in a few months, it should take nothing away from the remarkable feat. And, ultimately, Disney wins no matter what. This news comes to us via Forbes.