Avengers: Endgame Reclaims All-Time Box Office Record From Avatar

Avengers: Endgame is once again the highest-grossing movie of all time. Powered by Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame Encore” re-release, the 2019 film has reached $2.9255 billion worldwide, edging past Avatar’s $2.9237 billion, Deadline and Variety reported on Oct. 4.

The margin is slim, roughly $1.8 million on those figures, and it reflects how the two blockbusters have traded the crown for years. Variety notes that Avatar spent a decade as the biggest release ever before Endgame overtook it during its original 2019 run, then reclaimed the top spot in 2021 with a return to theaters. Avatar’s current total comes after five re-releases, according to Variety. Deadline recalls that Endgame’s first claim to the crown was announced at Comic-Con in 2019. As Variety notes, the film was the culmination of 21 Marvel movies over 10 years and brought together nearly every hero in the franchise, from Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America to Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther.

Disney reissued Endgame to build momentum for Avengers: Doomsday, which Anthony and Joe Russo directed and which opens Dec. 18, the outlets reported. The Encore opened at No. 1 domestically with $26.1 million last weekend before dropping 81% to $4.4 million in its second frame, Deadline said. Globally, the re-release added $18.8 million in its second weekend and has grossed $126 million to date, with $36.2 million coming from the U.S. and $89.8 million from international markets.

Deadline’s breakdown shows where the run found traction. Encore was the top non-local title in China with $21.3 million and also led in markets including Indonesia, Vietnam, Ecuador, and Bolivia. It has become the highest-grossing re-release across Latin America, Deadline said, with $6.1 million in Mexico and $3.1 million in Brazil, and it has earned $3.8 million in India. Endgame’s domestic total now stands at $894.6 million, third all-time behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($954.4 million) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936.6 million), while its $2.03 billion international cume ranks second on the all-time list.

For Disney, the swap is a win either way. Variety points out that Avatar was released by 20th Century Fox, which Disney acquired in 2019, leaving the company responsible for seven of the 10 highest-grossing films, including Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.33 billion), Titanic ($2.26 billion), and Avengers: Infinity War ($2.05 billion). The Marvel Cinematic Universe has now generated a combined $35.07 billion across its films, Variety reported, helped by this summer’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has climbed to $2.5 billion and counting.

The record also sets up a crowded December. Deadline reports that Doomsday, the 39th MCU installment according to Variety, will open the same day as Dune: Part Three from Paramount, Warner Bros. and Legendary, a matchup the trade compared to the Barbenheimer weekend. Theater owners, Variety said, are already buzzing about Doomsday’s prospects after the Encore turnout; Doomsday reunites nearly every MCU hero for the first time since Endgame. More studio business coverage is on our Studio page.

Verification: Worldwide totals, re-release grosses, and market breakdowns come from Deadline’s Oct. 4 box office report and Variety’s Oct. 4 report, which agree on Endgame’s $2.925 billion global total and Avatar’s $2.923 billion.