‘Avengers: Endgame’ dethrones 'Avatar' once more as highest-grossing movie in history
'Avengers: Endgame (Encore)' has sold enough tickets to nudge ahead of 'Avatar' and reclaim the title of the highest-grossing film in cinema history.
Endgame is on top once more. Prior to their upcoming team-up adventure, Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel rereleased 2019’s Avengers: Endgame with four new post-credits scenes. After a second weekend in theatres, the blockbuster has brought its worldwide box office total to $2.925 billion, making it the Number 1 film on the all-time box office chart. The previous record holder was James Cameron’s Avatar, which has earned $2.923 billion worldwide. The two films have traded the top spot on the all-time chart since 2019.
Endgame dethroned Avatar seven years ago, but then James Cameron’s film was rereleased in 2022 in the run-up to Avatar: The Way of Water, when it grossed enough to reclaim the #1 title. The standings are as follows:Avengers: Endgame (2019) - $2.925 billion Avatar (2009) - $2.923 billion Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) - $2.505 billion Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) - $2.334 billion Titanic (1997) - $2.257 billion Ne Zha 2 (2025) - $2.217 billion Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - $2.068 billion Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - $2.048 billion Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - $1.922 billion Zootopia 2 (2025) - $1.866 billion While the rerelease of Avengers: Endgame has delighted most fans, some have called out Marvel for retconning the original film, accusing Marvel of cheaply rewriting the end of the film to fit the narrative of Doomsday.
Others have simply called foul and deemed that Marvel is “cheating” when it comes to box office gross... Wherever you stand on the issue, Endgame is projected to finish its rerelease with $2.95 billion worldwide, according to Global Box Office. As for all Avatar fans out there feeling sore, both franchises are now controlled by Disney, so whoever’s on top just means that the House of Mouse remains the undisputed box office titan. Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on 18 December – the same day as Dune: Part Three – leading to Barbenheimer-like double-bill aspirations under the moniker Dunesday. The question is now: Will Doomsday top Endgame and Avatar?
Considering how this year’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day broke box office records to shoot up the chart and become the third highest-grossing film of all time, who’s to say Marvel can’t shake things up once more?
