Pardon me for the silly headline, but it’s a pretty funny juxtaposition any way you slice it. Marvel Studios made a big push this weekend, increasing the number of theaters running The Avengers (now a nearly four month old movie) by close to two thousand. The result? The Avengers has now pushed past the $1.5 billion dollar mark in gross box office earnings.

That still leaves it in third place on the list of highest grossing movies of all time, behind two James Cameron movies (you know the ones: Titanic and Avatar), but Joss Whedon isn’t sweating it.

He told Vulture on Friday:

I don’t think [The Avengers is] a perfect movie. I don’t even think it’s a great movie. I think it’s a great time, and I’m proud of it, but for me, what was exciting is that people don’t go to see a movie that many times unless it’s pulling on something from within, unless there’s a need there. That’s very gratifying.

Personally, I agree 100%. The Avengers is no Citizen Kane, but it’s a Back to the Future, a Jurassic Park, or a Raiders of the Lost Arc. I’m always in favor of a good time, as many bathroom stalls walls will attest. Too bad DVD sales won’t be contributing to its box office gross record, because it just seems extravagant that James Cameron should hold on to two of those spots.

In order to overtake Titanic for the #2 spot, The Avengers would have to make another seven million dollars before it leaves theaters. The take so far this weekend that put it over the 1.5 billion mark was $1.7 million. Whether the movie has more than a month of weekends just as successful as that left in it remains to be seen.

(via The Hollywood Reporter and Vulture.)

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