The box office crown has changed hands again. Avengers: Endgame is officially the highest-grossing movie of all time, knocking Avatar back to second place after a five-year reign at the top.
Disney confirmed the milestone on October 4 in an official announcement, putting Endgame at an estimated $2.9255 billion at the global box office, edging past Avatar's $2.9237 billion. The margin is razor-thin, and the studio notes the totals are still early tallies that could shift as final reports come in.
The record fell thanks to Avengers Endgame: Encore, the theatrical re-release Disney rolled out to build anticipation for Avengers: Doomsday. The Encore run added $126 million to the film's lifetime gross, including $36.2 million domestically and $89.8 million internationally. The re-release opened to $86 million worldwide in its first weekend back, with $26 million from North America and $60 million overseas, and IMAX screens alone accounted for $13.7 million of that haul.
This was never a simple reissue. The Encore version arrived with several new end-credits scenes and an introductory thank-you to fans from Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, plus additional footage tying directly into Doomsday. Depending on the format, audiences got either two or six minutes of new material, with IMAX and premium-format viewers receiving an extra scene.
The rivalry between the two blockbusters is now the longest-running tug-of-war in Hollywood history. Avatar held the all-time record for a decade until Endgame overtook it during its original 2019 run. Cameron's film pulled ahead again in 2021 thanks to a re-release in China, and it has now slipped back to second place five years later. Notably, Avatar reached its total across five separate theatrical re-releases over the years, so the asterisk debate cuts both ways.
Either way, Disney is popping champagne. Avatar was originally released by 20th Century Fox, which Disney acquired in 2019, meaning the studio now owns both films at the top of the chart. Disney is responsible for seven of the ten highest-grossing movies of all time, a list that also includes Avatar: The Way of Water at $2.33 billion, Titanic at $2.26 billion, and Avengers: Infinity War at $2.05 billion.
The milestone also underscores the sheer scale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Across 38 theatrical releases, the franchise has generated more than $35 billion worldwide, making it the most successful film franchise in history by an enormous margin. And the machine is not slowing down: Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already reached $2.5 billion and sits in third place on the all-time chart, within striking distance of the top two.
All of this is building toward Avengers: Doomsday, which arrives in December with Joe and Anthony Russo returning to direct. The film has already generated $60 million in presales according to industry reports, and Disney's Infinity Vision campaign for premium formats has driven the bulk of that advance business. Downey returns in a new role as the villain, swapping Iron Man's armor for a green cape and mask, alongside a lineup of returning heroes and newcomers from Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts.
Whether Endgame holds the crown this time may depend on what happens next. Cameron has another Avatar film in the pipeline, and history suggests neither side treats this record as permanent. For now, though, Earth's Mightiest Heroes are back on top.
Source: The Walt Disney Company
