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James Cameron's Avatar increases its lead over Avengers: Endgame to be the highest-grossing movie of all-time at the box office. When Cameron's original sci-fi movie hit theaters in 2009, it had an odds-defying box office run where its second and third weekends outgrossed its opening. The strong word of mouth and the craze around Avatar's 3D ballooned its box office performance. It ended its theatrical run after more than eight months in theaters after earning more than $2.7 billion to become the biggest movie of all-time.

Avatar held onto its box office crown for a decade and left many in Hollywood to wonder what movie could eventually surpass the record-setting performance. Marvel Studios proved to have what it took with Avengers: Endgame's release in 2019. The twenty-third installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe narrowly defeated Avatar. This allowed the wildly popular franchise to add another record to its list of accomplishments, but it was expected to only be temporary. Less than two years after taking the title, Avatar's re-release in China allowed it to beat Avengers: Endgame and become the biggest movie ever once again.

In the second weekend of Avatar's re-release, the movie continues to increase its lead over Avengers: Endgame to retain the record for the foreseeable future. According to Deadline, Cameron's blockbuster earned another $14.1 million in its second weekend. Avatar's re-release in the Middle Kingdom has generated an additional $44M and raised the film's record-setting total to $2.833 billion. It gives Avatar a $36M advantage over Avengers: Endgame's box office total of $2.797 billion.

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The performance by Avatar officially makes it the biggest re-release in China of all-time. The edge over Avengers: Endgame is expected to continue to grow in the coming weeks. This report notes that current projections call for Avatar's re-release to make roughly $57M when it is finished. If these estimates are close to accurate, Avatar's all-time box office record will come with a lifetime gross of $2.85 billion. This would mean Avengers: Endgame will need to make more than $50M in a future re-release to top Avatar again.

Avatar's impressive performance in China during this re-release is one of the reasons why Avengers: Endgame might not ever become the highest-grossing movie of all-time again. It has been more than a decade since audiences were able to visit Pandora on the big screen. Avengers: Endgame came out so recently that a re-release likely wouldn't be as big, and the continuous MCU content in theaters and on Disney+ give fans plenty of new Marvel content. There's also the chance that Disney will issue a global re-release of Avatar in the next year to get audiences prepared for the first of four sequels coming by 2028.

Avatar 2 (2022)
Release Date: Dec 16, 2022

Avatar 3 (2024)
Release Date: Dec 20, 2024

Avatar 4 (2026)
Release Date: Dec 18, 2026

Avatar 5 (2028)
Release Date: Dec 22, 2028