The incredible 2009 science-fiction film, Avatar, has crossed the 2019 Superhero movie, Avengers: Endgame, to again become the highest-grossing film of all-time. It closed the $7.82 million gap on Saturday after it was re-released in theatres on Friday in China.
The James Cameron movie starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriguez, and Stephen Lang broke several records upon its initial release, including the highest-grossing film ever released, in both 3D and IMAX, and the fastest movie to gross $1 billion.
On Saturday, 5 PM EST, the re-release of the 2009-epic had generated an estimated $8.9 million, and snatched the title of the highest-grossing film back from Marvel’s Endgame.
The long-expected, but suddenly announced re-release of the Disney-owned movie now has an estimated fluid global total of $2,798,579,794 as compared to Endgame’s gross total of $2,797,501,328.
The film has been re-released for theater-lovers to get theaters going again COVID-19 pandemic, and is available on the majority of IMAX and 3D screens across the country.
During its original run, Avatar had generated a huge $2.78 billion at the worldwide box office, a record that was broken 10 years later by Avengers: Endgame. After it broke Avatar’s record, Cameron congratulated Marvel Studios on becoming "The New Box Office King."
While MCU’s Infinity Saga finale took 85 days to beat Avatar, the Cameron-directed epic had beaten the previous record holder, Titanic, in just 41 days. Still, Endgame was only able to beat Avatar’s total by about $1 million.
While speaking about the film on Thursday to China.org, Cameron said that while Avatar is a timeless film, it is as important today as it was during its original release - perhaps even more so, as the global conversation around deforestation, climate change, and a damaged bond with nature is growing more heated by the day even now.
Of course, while this record is impressive, it is worth noting that Avatar has been re-released a few times after its original run, while Endgame generated all of its collection in 2019.
Ironically, it was China that helped Endgame break Avatar’s record in 2019, and is now the one helping Avatar reach the top with its re-release.
Avatar didn't just crush global box office records, but also grew more popular than Chinese media in China - it also crushed the Chinese New Year hit, Hi Mom.
Of course, whether it's Avatar and Endgame topping the box office, Disney, who bought Fox in mid-2019 and owns both, is the real winner. So no matter who’s the one on the top, Disney is the one holding the top 2 positions for now.
Meanwhile, Cameron is busy working on the long-awaited Avatar sequels. Before the pandemic, Disney had released a schedule that has Avatar 2 lined up for December 16, 2022; part 3 for December 20, 2024; part 4 for December 18, 2026; and part 5 for December 22, 2028. These dates will probably change drastically going forward, but they have held for the time being.