Avatar set to beat Avengers: Endgame as highest grossing film after re-release

Avatar is set to recapture the title of highest grossing film of all time thanks to its return to Chinese theaters this weekend.For nearly 10 years, James Cameron’s sci-fi epic has been the staple. highest grossing movie in the world until Avengers Endgame was released in 2019. The margin was slim as the $ 2.7902 billion Endgame narrowly surpassed Avatar’s $ 2.7897 billion.

However, as reported by Variety, Avatar was re-released in theaters across China this weekend, where it grossed $ 3.5 million on Friday and brought the film’s total to $ 2.7926. Box office watchers expect Avatar’s total to be higher again once the weekend totals are calculated.

The Chinese Cinema Bureau has called for popular films, like Avatar, to be re-released to help its theaters reopen. Avatar was a hit in the country, grossing $ 206 million when it was released in 2010.

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Avatar’s record was helped before when the film was re-released in theaters in 2010 with an extended theatrical cut. This re-release added $ 33.2 million to Avatar’s box office earnings.

Ultimately, the big winner here is Disney, which now owns Avatar following its acquisition from 20th Century Fox in 2019. Regardless of whether Avatar or Avengers Endgame is the highest grossing movie of all time, both are properties. Disney, along with six more of the Top 10 Grossing Movies of All Time.

Meanwhile, James Cameron is working on two more Avatar sequels scheduled for 2022 and 2024 respectively. And Marvel’s Phase 4 has started thanks to its TV premieres of WandaVision and the upcoming Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

Matt TM Kim is editor-in-chief of IGN.