‘Avengers: Endgame’ Is Closing In on ‘Avatar’ Again, and One Tracking Report Says the Crown Could Change Hands This Weekend

The race for the title of highest-grossing movie of all time has never really stayed settled. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and ‘Avatar‘ have traded the crown back and forth for years, and every time one of them slips ahead, the other seems to find a way to take it back.

‘Endgame‘ first passed ‘Avatar’ in July 2019, crossing $2.7902 billion against the earlier film’s $2.7897 billion. ‘Avatar’ reclaimed the title in March 2021 after a re-release in China, and further re-releases pushed its total to about $2.924 billion.

Now the pendulum may be swinging again. Disney and Marvel reissued ‘Avengers: Endgame’ on September 25 as ‘Avengers Endgame: Encore’, and Global Box Office is now reporting that the movie is tracking to surpass the original ‘Avatar’ this coming weekend to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME is now tracking to surpass the original AVATAR this coming weekend to become the highest-grossing movie of all time . pic.twitter.com/Nv2kw9QYuJ

— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) September 30, 2026

After its first weekend back in theaters, ‘Encore’ earned an estimated $86 million worldwide from September 25 to 27, with $26 million in North America and $60 million internationally. That pushed the film’s lifetime total to about $2.885 billion.

‘Avatar’ stands at about $2.924 billion, which leaves ‘Endgame’ roughly $39 million short. During its original run, the film earned $2.799 billion, and the re-release has already made up a big chunk of the difference.

The re-release beat all comers. It topped the global chart and earned about $36 million more worldwide than ‘Resident Evil’, the weekend’s second-place film. It was also the first re-release since 2011’s ‘The Lion King’ in 3D to top the North American box office.

Its $26 million domestic debut was the third-best opening for a re-release, behind 1997’s ‘Star Wars’ special edition at $35.9 million and 2011’s ‘The Lion King’ 3D at $30.2 million. It also edged past the $25.4 million opening of last year’s ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ 20th anniversary re-release.

Overseas, the $60 million debut was the second-highest foreign opening for a re-release, behind 2012’s ‘Titanic’ 3D. The film was No. 1 in China, the UK, Mexico, Italy, Brazil and Germany.

The situation echoes 2019. Back then, Disney re-released ‘Endgame’ with additional footage in an effort to beat ‘Avatar’, and at the time the film was about $37 million behind, almost the same gap it faces now.

It eventually crossed the line and took the title. ‘Avatar’ has benefited from re-releases of its own over the years, including a 2022 reissue that made it the biggest movie of all time twice, and Disney now owns it through its acquisition of Fox.

The “this weekend” timing is aggressive, and it is worth treating as a projection rather than a fact. Re-releases usually fall sharply in their second weekend, although ‘Encore’ is running well ahead of a typical reissue.

One analysis projected the film’s total haul from the re-release at between $116 million and $160 million. At the low end, that would add only about $30 million to the current lifetime total, falling short of ‘Avatar’. GamesRadar, meanwhile, suggested the film would regain the crown in a few weeks, and Deadline noted that Disney was in wait-and-see mode.

The re-release is not a simple reissue. It includes bonus scenes, including a revised ending featuring Loki and a sound over the credits that ties into Doctor Doom, and it runs about 4 minutes longer than the original.

It also introduced Marvel’s new premium large format, Infinity Vision. The timing is deliberate, since ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ opens on December 18, and ‘Encore’ doubles as a marketing push for that film.

Reassemble the team & relive the experience as Avengers Endgame: Encore returns to theaters September 25.

Tickets now available for IMAX and Infinity Vision screens: https://t.co/pZZ4PiOyQb pic.twitter.com/2wKSVG4FLz

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) August 25, 2026

‘Endgame’ is also the third-largest North American release of all time with $884 million, and it became the second movie ever to pass $2 billion at the international box office. The re-release helped Marvel’s films cross $35 billion globally across 38 titles.

Elsewhere on the chart, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ sits at about $2.495 billion, making it the eighth film ever to pass $2 billion. For a franchise that has had an uneven post-pandemic run, the numbers show audiences will still show up for event movies.

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