It's official. James Cameron has to hand over the crown to the Russo Brothers and Marvel Studios. Avengers: Endgame has beaten Avatar to become the highest grossing movie of all time. It's been a long battle for fans who have been watching the box office numbers like a hawk since the end of April. And for a while, it didn't look like Endgame was going to end up pulling off the feat after making so much money so fast and then stalling, but it finally did it. The Russo Brothers had this to say to the fans.

"To the greatest fans in the universe, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you..."

Avatar, with $2.787 billion, was the number to beat, and by the time the box office numbers are updated for the weekend, Avengers: Endgame will have surpassed that number. There is currently a gap of $500,000 in global ticket sales between the two movies, which will all change in the morning. It looks like the rerelease of Endgame was a wise choice for Marvel Studios that came at exactly the right time. The movie was able to piggyback off of the eminent release of Spider-Man: Far From Home with some new footage and a Stan Lee tribute.

The Russo Brothers were initially not too excited to see the focus of Avengers: Endgame go straight to the box office. They wanted fans to zero in on the story and the emotional elements of the movie, which was years in the making. However, the directors have now come around to the box office success and have embraced it. They now have the highest grossing movie of all time, beating out anything that has come before and it will likely be a while before anyone gets close to beating that number, even with the Avatar sequels on the way.

Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of eleven years-worth of storytelling, which goes all the way back to 2008's Iron Man. All of these interconnected stories met right down the middle to deliver Infinity War and Endgame to the masses. MCU fans were ready and there were already whispers of box office insanity long before the final movie hit theaters. While many would assume that Endgame is the final movie in the MCU's Phase 3, it isn't. Spider-Man: Far From Home gets that honor and for some, it plays out like a direct continuation of the final Avengers movie.

James Cameron will probably give out a congratulatory post on social media to Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers, but he will then put his head down and try to get back on top with the upcoming Avatar sequels. Cameron is fiercely competitive and has spent years living comfortably having two of the biggest movies in the world. Now it's time to hand that crown over to the Russo Brothers, who will take it and hold it for the next king or queen of the box office. Deadline was the first to report on Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest grossing movie of all time.