Ever since Avengers: Endgame tore into theaters with a $357 million opening, the movie’s quest to dethrone Avatar as the top-grossing film of all time is all anybody can talk about.
But the entire movie industry doesn’t just revolve around the Avengers, you know. We should be celebrating all achievements in film, such as the fact that Garfield: The Movie is the 771st largest movie in history, grossing just over $200 million worldwide in its 2004 run. Two-hundred million dollars is nothing to sneeze at! It made nearly $22 million in its opening weekend alone, recouping almost HALF of the entire film’s budget. Wow!
Sure, Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of eleven years and 20+ movies of buildup, all coming together to this one epic conclusion, but what about the fact that Garfield: The Movie had a 26-year buildup of hundreds of daily comic strips, all leading to the big-screen leap of the world’s biggest lasagna-loving cat (need I also remind you that he was voiced by film legend Bill Murray)? And that he was able to tell his story in a crisp 85 minutes?
People are also just going on and on and on and on and on about the incredible special effects in Avengers: Endgame, but haven’t you seen it all before in superhero movies? You might forget this, but back when Garfield: The Movie was released, its CGI was groundbreaking. It wasn’t afraid to make bold choices, to go down creative paths never seen before.
And if you want to talk about action, what’s more action-packed than the climactic train sequence in Garfield: The Movie? If Garfield’s heroic quest to save Odie doesn’t put you on the edge of your seat, you don’t have a pulse!
I know all of this might make it seem like I hated Avengers: Endgame, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not saying Avengers: Endgame is a bad movie by any means. But it’s not the only movie to ever exist. I just wish we were all spending maybe a little more time celebrating another box office powerhouse like Garfield just as much as we celebrate the adventures of Captain America, Iron Man, and the rest of the Avengers.
All I’m saying is that there will never be another free-spirited cat like Garfield, and, just like Avengers: Endgame, there will never be another film like Garfield: The Movie. As a fellow fan of cinema, it would behoove you to never forget that.
