'Avengers: Endgame' has reclaimed its place at the top of the global box office, overtaking ‘Avatar’ to become the highest-grossing film of all time once again.
The Marvel blockbuster has now reached around $2.925 billion worldwide following its latest theatrical re-release, narrowly moving ahead of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’, which stands at approximately $2.923 billion.
Endgame edges past Avatar again
The latest change at the top comes after Disney brought ‘Avengers: Endgame’ back to cinemas, allowing the 2019 release to add to its already massive worldwide total.
The difference between the two films is currently only a few million dollars, making the race for the all-time record one of the closest in recent box-office history.
‘Avatar’ had previously reclaimed the crown through theatrical re-releases. The James Cameron-directed science-fiction epic initially became the highest-grossing film ever after its release in 2009 and remained at No. 1 for almost a decade.
A box office battle spanning years
‘Avengers: Endgame’ finally surpassed ‘Avatar’ in 2019 during its original theatrical run. The Marvel film briefly took the record before ‘Avatar’ returned to cinemas in 2021.
That re-release came ahead of the arrival of ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and pushed Cameron’s film back above ‘Endgame’ on the worldwide charts.
The latest re-release has now reversed that result.
Released in 2019, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ brought together Marvel’s major superheroes for the conclusion of the Infinity Saga. Its original run turned it into a global box-office phenomenon and saw it challenge a record that ‘Avatar’ had held for years.
What happens next?
With both films continuing to benefit from theatrical returns, the battle for the top spot may not be over. ‘Avatar’ has already demonstrated its ability to climb the rankings through re-releases, while ‘Endgame’ has now done the same.
For the moment, however, Marvel’s superhero epic sits at No. 1, with ‘Avatar’ just behind it.