Avatar will take back Avengers: Endgame’s title as box office champion

For nearly a decade, Avatar held the record for worldwide box office…until it was dethroned by Avengers: Endgame. A rerelease is about to change things.

James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar — not to be confused with the Nickelodeon animated series — held the record as the highest global box office grossing movie of all time for almost a decade. However, in 2019 it was dethroned by Avengers: Endgame, which has earned over $2.7 billion at the box office. Cameron even congratulated Marvel on Twitter:

Still, the margin is close. Endgame is only leading by a mere $7.4 million. And now, The Hollywood Reporter has it China’s Film Bureau has approved plans for a nationwide rerelease of Avatar, which will almost certainly help it regain its position as the most profitable movie of all time.

Moviegoers will be able to experience Avatar again in IMAX 3D and regular 3D on March 12. Per THR, there’s a lot of love and nostalgia for the movie in China, as it was one of the first big hits as the Chinese box office was hitting its boom period in the late ’00s. (Chinese ticket sales account for almost $630 million of Avatar’s global box office total.)

Of course, Disney owns both the Marvel and Avatar franchises, so they’re a winner either way.

James Cameron might see the re-release as the perfect opportunity to give Avatar some traction again as he prepares to reboot the franchise with a slate of sequels. He has a lot planned. The first sequel is planned for December 2022, with additional movies on the way through Avatar 5.

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