Avengers: Endgame is officially the highest-grossing movie of all time again, with the success of Avengers: Endgame Encore pushing the Marvel Studios blockbuster back ahead of James Cameron’s Avatar at the worldwide box office.
According to Disney, Endgame now stands at an estimated $2.9255 billion worldwide, narrowly overtaking Avatar‘s $2.9237 billion total and reclaiming a record it first held in 2019.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ Is The Highest-Grossing Movie Ever Again
The record was reclaimed following the second weekend of Avengers: Endgame Encore, which returned the 2019 film to cinemas on September 25 with new material linked to Marvel’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.
The re-release has added around $126 million to Endgame‘s lifetime box office total. After an $86 million global opening weekend, the film added another $18.8 million worldwide in its second weekend, enough to move ahead of Avatar.
The record is based on worldwide box office grosses without adjusting for inflation, the standard measure used for the modern all-time box office chart.
‘Endgame’ And ‘Avatar’ Have Traded The Record Before
Avatar originally became the world’s highest-grossing film following its release in 2009 and held the record for almost a decade.
Avengers: Endgame first overtook the James Cameron film in 2019 after Marvel returned the movie to cinemas with additional material. However, Avatar moved back into first place in 2021 following a successful theatrical re-release in China.
Five years later, Marvel has now taken the top spot back once again, although the gap between the two films is currently less than $2 million and future re-releases could change the ranking again.
‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Builds Towards ‘Doomsday’
Marvel’s decision to bring Endgame back to cinemas comes as the studio builds towards Avengers: Doomsday this December.
The Encore presentation includes additional material connecting the two Avengers films, while selected IMAX and Infinity Vision screenings have also been promoted with an extra Doomsday sneak peek.
The appetite for Marvel’s next Avengers event has already been clear elsewhere. Disney previously revealed that Avengers: Doomsday had sold $50 million in advance tickets, months before release.
With Endgame now back at the top of the worldwide box office chart, the rerelease has delivered another major milestone for the MCU ahead of its next crossover event.
Avengers: Endgame Encore is now playing in cinemas. You can also read when Endgame Encore could arrive on Disney+.
