Avengers: Endgame is once again the highest-grossing film in history. After a second weekend back in cinemas, Marvel’s re-release has taken the 2019 film’s worldwide total to $2.925 billion, edging past the $2.923 billion earned by James Cameron’s Avatar.
The re-release, billed as Avengers: Endgame (Encore), includes four new post-credits scenes and acts as a lead-in to Avengers: Doomsday, the next team-up film in the series. According to Global Box Office, Endgame is projected to finish its new run with $2.95 billion worldwide.
The two films have traded places before. Endgame first overtook Avatar in 2019, but Cameron’s film won back the top spot in 2022 when it returned to cinemas ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water. Both franchises are now owned by Disney, so whichever title leads the chart, the record stays with the same studio.
Not every fan has welcomed the result. Some have accused Marvel of rewriting the original ending to fit the story of Doomsday, while others argue that a re-release should not count towards the record. The rest of the all-time chart has also moved this year: Spider-Man: Brand New Day has climbed to third place with $2.505 billion, ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water on $2.334 billion and Titanic on $2.257 billion. Ne Zha 2, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Zootopia 2 complete the top ten.
Attention now turns to 18 December, when Avengers: Doomsday opens on the same day as Dune: Part Three. The clash has already led to talk of a “Dunesday” double bill in the style of the Barbie and Oppenheimer pairing. With Brand New Day having broken records on its way to third place this year, Euronews suggested Marvel could reshape the chart again.
