The epic race for box office supremacy between James Cameron’s Avatar and Marvel’s Avengers Endgame has hit another milestone. As of writing this, Avengers: Endgame has just passed Avatar’s total box office – with a catch.
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Yes, Avengers: Endgame has passed Avatar‘s box office – but only the box office total of Avatar’s original theatrical run. If you don’t remember, Avatar was re-released in theaters for an extended run in theaters, which generated the additional box office earnings that constituted its final, record-setting total.
Endgame has now surpassed Avatar’s original theatrical gross (before it was re-released). Endgame only has $38.3 million to surpass Avatar’s final gross now. from r/marvelstudios
The long-short of this whole breakdown is that Avatar’s re-release in theaters generated nearly $40 million in additional box office revenue. That means Avengers: Endgame now has that final stretch to go in order to truly take the crown as highest-grossing movie of all time – and to accomplish that goal, Marvel Studios is taking a page out of Avatar‘s playbook.
It’s been announced that Marvel is re-releasing Avengers: Endgame in theaters this coming weekend, with some new incentives designed to draw fans back in. Comicbook.com’s Brandon Davis broke that story, while speaking to Marvel’s Kevin Feige at the Spider-Man: Far From Home press junket:
“We are doing that,” Feige said of the re-release with new footage. “I don’t know if it’s been announced. And I don’t know how much… Yeah, we’re doing it next weekend.”
The Avengers: Endgame re-release will include some deleted scenes at the end of the film, a special tribute to Marvel creator Stan Lee, and some kind of post-credits scene that Feige teased will be worth fans while:
“Not an extended cut, but there will be a version going into theaters with a bit of a marketing push with a few new things at the end of the movie,” Feige said. “If you stay and watch the movie, after the credits, there’ll be a deleted scene, a little tribute, and a few surprises. Which will be next weekend.”
The question now is whether this Avengers: Endgame re-release – combined with Marvel fans’ collective drive to bring this film over the line – will be the last-ditch effort needed to make Marvel king of the box office. We shall see.
Avengers: Endgame will be re-released in theaters this weekend; Captain Marvel is now available on home video. Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 2nd. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 is slated for release in 2021.
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