‘Avatar’ Re-release Makes It Highest Grossing Movie over ‘Endgame’

James Cameron’s Avatar increases its all-time box office record over Avengers: Endgame to be the highest-grossing movie ever.

The strong word of mouth and the craze around Avatar‘s 3D swelled its box office accomplishments. When Cameron’s original sci-fi film premiered in the theaters in 2009, it had an odds-defying box office run. 

The movie’s second and third weekends outgrossed its opening day. It terminated its theatrical run after more than eight months in theaters after reaping more than $2.7 billion to become the largest movie of all time.

Many in Hollywood have wondered what movie could ultimately outperform the record-setting achievement. However, Marvel Studios demonstrated to have what it took, with Avengers: Endgame‘s release in 2019. The twenty-third installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe narrowly defeated Avatar.

This enabled the top-rated franchise to add another title to its list of accomplishments. Less than two years after seizing the title, Avatar‘s re-release in China has helped it beat Avengers: Endgame and become the largest movie ever again.

During the second weekend of Avatar‘s re-release, the movie continued to increase its lead over Avengers: Endgame to defend the record for the foreseeable future. As reported by Deadline, Cameron’s blockbuster received another $14.1 million in its second weekend.

Avatar‘s re-release in the Middle Kingdom has produced an additional $44 million and lifted the film’s record-setting total to $2.833 billion. It gives Avatar a $36 million benefit over Avengers: Endgame‘s box office total of $2.797 billion.

Avatar‘s remarkable performance in China during this re-release is one reason why Avengers: Endgame might not ever become the highest-grossing movie of all-time again. A re-release for the movie likely wouldn’t be as big, and the continuous MCU content in theaters and on Disney+ gives fans tons of new Marvel stories to follow. There’s also the possibility that Disney will grant a global re-release of Avatar next year to get audiences readied for the first of four sequels coming by 2028.

About Avatar

Avatar (marketed as James Cameron’s Avatar) is a 2009 American epic science fiction franchise whose first part was directed, written, and produced by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. The second film in the franchise is due to release in 2022. 

The film is set in the mid-22nd century when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the mineral unobtanium, a room-temperature superconductor.

Jake, who is paraplegic, replaces his twin on the Na’vi inhabited Pandora for a corporate mission. After the natives accept him as one of their own, he must decide where his loyalties lie.