(Photo: Marvel Studios, Marvel Entertainment)

Days after passing the $1 billion mark at the global box office, Marvel's Captain America: Civil War has passed The Dark Knight to become one of the twenty highest-grossing movies of all time and the fifth-highest-grossing comic book movie in history (behind Marvel's The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, and The Dark Knight Rises).

Before being dethroned, The Dark Knight was the only movie in the top five comic book movies to have grossed more in North America than it did in the rest of the world. In the last ten years or so, the role of the international box office has become larger and more important to the success of big tentpoles across the board, but superhero brands tend to transcend international borders more easily than most other franchises.

Captain America, because of his patriotic origin story, was originally a hard sell, retitled The First Avenger in some international markets. Seeing the property blow past $700 million at the international box office in just a few weeks -- even Captain America: The Winter Soldier didn't crack half a milion overseas -- is arguably a watershed moment for Cap and Marvel.

Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.