Marvel’s blockbuster film, “Avengers: Endgame,” has reclaimed its position as the highest-grossing movie ever this past weekend, excluding inflation. The movie, produced by Disney, raked in an impressive $2.9255 billion US, narrowly surpassing James Cameron’s “Avatar,” which stood at $2.9237 billion US.
This achievement follows a recent re-release of “Endgame” in theaters, marking the second time it has surpassed “Avatar” at the box office. The revamped version of the superhero ensemble film, with an additional four minutes of footage, premiered to a global box office revenue of $86 million US ($26 million US domestic), as reported by Disney.
The re-release served as a prelude to the upcoming film, “Avengers: Doomsday,” the next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s series of high-budget team-up movies. Scheduled for release on December 18, the movie will reintroduce familiar characters such as Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.
The move aims to revitalize the MCU’s popularity after recent films like “Thunderbolts” and “Captain America: Brave New World” failed to resonate with audiences due to their new lead characters.
In terms of domestic box office openings for re-releases, only “Star Wars: A New Hope” (1997) with $35.9 million US and “The Lion King” (2011) with $30.2 million US have outperformed “Endgame.” However, in 2019, the Marvel film surpassed “Avatar,” the sci-fi epic depicting a conflict between Na’vi and humans, shortly after its release.
Notably, James Cameron had held the highest-grossing film record since 1998 with “Titanic.” Despite “Titanic” achieving its earnings of $1.84 billion US with lower ticket prices, “Avatar” claimed the top spot in 2010 after just 39 days in theaters.
After “Endgame” broke Cameron’s streak in 2019, the director graciously acknowledged the achievement, expressing his congratulations to Marvel for becoming the new box-office champion. However, in 2021, following a re-release in China, “Avatar” reclaimed the top spot with over $2.8 billion US in earnings. The Russo brothers, directors of “Endgame,” congratulated Cameron on social media, passing the torch back to him.
The recent back-and-forth in box office records comes amidst a volatile period for the film industry. Despite a successful summer with domestic ticket sales reaching $4.76 billion US, there were several disappointments, including Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” and “The End of Oak Street,” which failed to attract audiences despite positive reviews and star-studded casts.
Other films like “The Dog Stars” and “Digger” also underperformed, contributing to a challenging year for studios like Warner Bros. However, unconventional genre films like “Obsession,” “Resident Evil,” and “Backrooms” have been surprisingly successful, indicating a growing audience interest in unique and unexpected content over established franchises.