From Avatar 2 to Avengers: Endgame, the 10 fastest movies to earn $1 billion, globally

Currently, three James Cameron movies have made it to the billion-dollar club aka the list of movies having earned $1 billion globally, with Avatar: The Way of Water crossing the benchmark in just fourteen days of its release. Despite this, the director says it will need to be the “third or fourth highest-grossing film in history” to be profitable. As per reports, Cameron spent approximately $350 million to make the movie.

Titanic, also directed by Cameron, became the first movie to earn $1 billion on March 1, 1998 - 74 days after it was released. While multiple other films reached the coveted $1 billion milestone in the following years, few have reached it as quickly as Cameron’s latest offering, Avatar: The Way Of Water.

Here’s a list of the top ten films that were the fastest to earn $1 billion, globally. All films listed below broadly fall under three categories- sci-fi, action, and adventure.

1. Avengers: Endgame (2019)- 5 days

Produced by Marvel Studios, Avengers: Endgame swiftly climbed the international box office charts, breaking records when it earned over $1 billion worldwide within five days of its release. To date, it remains the fastest movie to reach the billion-dollar club. In India, Endgame became the first Hollywood movie to enter the ₹300 crore club. It briefly overtook Avatar to become the highest-grossing movie in the world.

2. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)- 11 days

Released in 2018, Avengers: Infinity War is another superhero and sci-fi movie produced by Marvel Studios, which crossed the $1 billion benchmark after just 11 days of its release. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, it featured an ensemble star cast that included actors Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin, Chris Evans, and Tom Holland, to name a few.

3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)- 12 days

Released over thirty years after the Return of the Jedi, the much anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the 7th movie in the blockbuster- series. The film also became the highest grosser of 2015 and follows characters Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Hans Solo, who are searching for Luke Skywalker.

4. Spiderman: No Way Home (2021)- 12 days

Despite having released during the pandemic, Spiderman: No Way Home is the third Marvel Studios movie to earn a billion dollars in less than two weeks. It was co-produced by Columbia Pictures. The film took over social media when it brought together Peter Parker from three different universes - played by actors Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire (the original spiderman). The film also starred Benedict Cumberbatch, who reprised his role of Doctor Strange.

5. Jurassic World (2015)- 13 days

2015 was the year of Hollywood blockbusters with releases like Furious 7, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Jurassic World. By crossing $1 billion in earnings in just 13 days, Jurassic World surpassed Furious 7, which crossed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office in 19 days. Jurassic World had grossed $511 million in just three days of its release. The film even went against a Marvel movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

6. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)- 14 days

Avatar: The Way of Water has earned over a billion dollars within two weeks of its release. Directed by James Cameron, its cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet. In Avatar part two, Oscar award-winner Kate Winslet plays the role of Ronal, wife of the Metkayina clan chief, the water-dwelling Na’vi warriors.

7. Furious 7 (2015)- 19 days

Universal Studios highest grosser of all times, Furious 7 earned $1.15 billion within 19 days of its release. Starring Vin Diesel, the movie paid a tribute to former cast member Paul Walker, who passed away in a car accident in 2013. The movie was completed in 2015, with Walker’s younger brother Cody Walker playing his role in the film’s closing sequence.

8. The Fate of the Furious (2017)- 19 days

Another addition to the American action series Fast and Furious, The Fate of the Furious made a billion bucks within 19 days, almost at the pace of its previous release Furious 7. It stars Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock alongside Vin Diesel and Charlize Theron, to name a few.

9. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)- 19 days

Starring Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Last Jedi cleared the billion-dollar milestone in less than three weeks. It toppled the three biggest international blockbusters of the year–Beauty and the Beast, Despicable Me 3, and The Fate of the Furious– to become the highest-grossing film of 2017.

10. Avatar (2010)- 17 days

Director James Cameron has given three billion dollar movies in the past 25 years. Avatar was a pathbreaking movie, which even after a decade of its release, remains the highest-grossing film of all time. Its position was briefly toppled by Marvel movie Avengers: Endgame which earned almost $2 billion worldwide. But Avatar regained its position after the movie was released again in China in 2021.

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