„Avengers: Endgame“ is the highest-grossing film in the history of the global box office. Marvel's superhero hit from 2019 has overtaken „Avatar“ after its new distribution in theaters, reports Variety.
After the re-release by Disney, the revenues of „Avengers: Endgame“ reached 2.925 billion dollars worldwide. Thus, the film once again took first place, although with a minimal lead over „Avatar“ director James Cameron's film, which has grossed $2.923 billion after five separate box office returns.
The two blockbusters have traded the top spot for years. "Avatar," released in 2009, remained the highest-grossing film in history for a decade. In 2019, "Avengers: Endgame" broke the record on its initial release. In 2021, "Avatar" returned to theaters and reclaimed the top spot. Now, Marvel's superheroes have once again overtaken James Cameron's fantasy epic.
Regardless of which of the two films is in the lead, the big winner is still Disney. "Avatar" was originally distributed by 20th Century Fox, whose film assets became the property of Disney after its acquisition of the company in 2019.
Disney is behind seven of the ten highest-grossing films in history. Among them are also “Avatar: The Last Airbender“ with $2.33 billion, “Titanic“ with $2.26 billion and “Avengers: Infinity War“ with $2.05 billion in revenue.
“Avengers: Endgame“ prepares audiences for “Avengers: The Rise of Dr. Doom“
Disney and Marvel have brought back “Avengers: Endgame“ in theaters and as part of the preparation for „Avengers: The Rise of Dr. Doom“, which is scheduled for release in December.
The re-release of „Avengers: Endgame“ alone has already brought over $126 million at the global box office, and the strong interest is taken as a positive signal for the next big Marvel movie.
„Avengers: Endgame“ became a phenomenon in 2019 because it concluded a storyline that had been developed in 21 Marvel films over more than a decade. The production brought together some of the most recognizable actors in the franchise, including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Tom Holland as Spider-Man, the late Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson.
After a period of uneven results after the pandemic, Marvel is once again betting on a large-scale gathering of superheroes in “Avengers: The Rise of Dr. Doom“. The film is directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, who also directed “Avengers: Endgame“.
“Avengers: The Rise of Dr. Doom“ will be the 39th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is expected to be among the biggest Hollywood releases of the year.
Meanwhile, the success of “Spider-Man: A New Day“, whose worldwide revenue according to Variety has already exceeded 2.5 billion dollars, has increased the total box office of the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to approximately 35.07 billion dollars. This solidifies the MCU as the most commercially successful film franchise in history.