Avengers: Endgame passes Avatar by $1.8 million to become the highest-grossing film of all time

Dubai: Avengers: Endgame has reclaimed its title as the highest-grossing film in box office history, edging past James Cameron's Avatar once again.

Thanks to Disney's Avengers: Endgame Encore re-release, the 2019 Marvel film has now made $2.925 billion (about Dh10.74 billion) worldwide. That puts it just ahead of Avatar, which stands at $2.923 billion (about Dh10.73 billion) after five re-releases.

The gap between the two is currently about $1.8 million (around Dh6.6 million). Since Endgame is still in cinemas, that lead could grow.

A record that keeps changing hands

The two films have traded the top spot several times over the years.

Avatar held the record for a decade after its release in 2009. Endgame overtook it on July 21, 2019, 89 days into its original release.

That lasted less than two years. In March 2021, Avatar returned to the top after a re-release in China, and later re-releases, including one ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, pushed its total further ahead.

Now, after the Encore run, the record belongs to Marvel again.

What the Encore re-release added

Avengers: Endgame Encore opened in cinemas on September 25. It includes a custom introduction, new footage and a special end tag exclusive to IMAX screenings.

The re-release made about $86 million (around Dh316 million) worldwide in its opening weekend. Disney says that is the second-biggest global opening for any theatrical re-release, behind only Titanic's 3D return in 2012.

In the US and Canada, it topped the weekend with $26 million. In the UK and Ireland, it opened at number one with £4.1 million (about Dh20 million).

Over two weekends, the re-release has made more than $126 million (around Dh463 million) worldwide, enough to close the roughly $39 million gap that separated Endgame from Avatar before its second weekend.

Building up to Avengers: Doomsday

The re-release was designed to build anticipation for Avengers: Doomsday, which opens in cinemas in December. The new footage in Encore is tied to the upcoming film.

Disney now owns both record-holders. Endgame was made by Marvel Studios, while Avatar came from 20th Century Fox, whose film assets Disney acquired in 2019. With those assets, Disney is behind seven of the 10 highest-grossing films ever, including Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.33 billion), Titanic ($2.26 billion) and Avengers: Infinity War ($2.05 billion).

The Marvel Cinematic Universe remains the most commercially successful film franchise in history. After this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has made $2.5 billion (about Dh9.18 billion) so far, the MCU's films have earned a combined $35.07 billion (around Dh128.8 billion).

Endgame in the UAE

Endgame was also a record-breaker in the UAE. When it was first released in April 2019, it earned Dh40.6 million at the UAE box office in less than two weeks, according to figures released by Disney at the time. That made it the highest-grossing film ever in the Middle East and North Africa region, overtaking the record held by Furious 7.