Avengers: Endgame overtakes Avatar again to become the highest-grossing movie of all time

What just happened? Marvel Studios has put Avengers: Endgame back on top of the global box office chart, narrowly ahead of James Cameron's Avatar, following the theatrical release of an updated version of the 2019 film. The result shows how a major franchise can use an older hit to generate fresh attention at the multiplex. It also points to a broader shift in how studios are using rereleases to support their current theatrical pipelines.

The rerelease, titled Avengers: Endgame Encore, has pushed the movie's worldwide total to $2.9255 billion. That puts it just ahead of Avatar, which has earned $2.9237 billion globally.

The difference is slim, and the record could change again. Both films have relied on rereleases to extend their box office runs years after their original debuts. The latest Endgame release was timed to help promote Marvel's next major event film, Avengers: Doomsday, which opens in December.

Encore included about four minutes of additional footage spread across four scenes. The scenes preview Doomsday, giving audiences a reason to return to a film that has long been available on home video and streaming. The strategy turns an older hit into part of the marketing campaign for a new release.

During the rerelease's opening weekend, Endgame Encore earned $86 million worldwide, making it the number 2 global rerelease opening of all time behind the 2012 3D rerelease of Titanic. It also opened at number 1 in North America with $26 million, outperforming new titles including Paramount's Heart of the Beast, A24's Primetime, and DreamWorks Animation's Forgotten Island.

Business slowed considerably in its second weekend. The film collected $4.4 million domestically and $14.4 million internationally, bringing its second-weekend global total to $18.8 million. It ranked seventh at the domestic box office.

Still, the first weekend provided enough of a boost to move Endgame past Avatar. The two films have traded the record before.

Avatar held the global box office title for about 10 years after its 2009 release. Endgame moved ahead in July 2019, shortly after its original run, when it passed $2.79 billion worldwide. Cameron publicly congratulated Marvel at the time.

The lead did not last. In 2021, Avatar returned to theaters ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water. That rerelease lifted the film's global total above Endgame and restored its place at the top of the chart.

Marvel is now using the same basic playbook. The Encore release was not simply an anniversary screening or a standard revival. Its new scenes centered on the next Avengers film, creating a direct link between the conclusion of the Infinity Saga and the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

For now, Endgame holds the record again. But given how close the totals are, Avatar could reclaim it with another rerelease.