'Avatar' Is Now The Highest Grossing Movie Of All Time Again, Surpassing 'Avengers: Endgame'

By Ethan Anderton/March 13, 2021 10:00 am EST

When Avengers: Endgame arrived in theaters in 2019, it surpassed James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi hit Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all time. But now the tables have turned, because Avatar was given a re-release in China this weekend, and it's already grossed enough to take back the title from Marvel's box office juggernaut.

Deadline learned overnight that Avatar had grossed an estimated $8.9 million by 5:00 P.M. local time in Saturday to reclaim the title of highest grossing movie of all time. Avatar now stands at an estimated $2,798,579,794, which is more than enough to surpass the $2,797,501,328 earned by Avengers: Endgame. The box office for Avatar will keep growing throughout the weekend, though it's not clear how long the movie is intended to stay in theaters over there.

Directors Anthony & Joe Russo conceded to James Cameron with some artwork created by Boss Logic:

Here's the updated list of the 10 highest grossing movies of all time:

1. Avatar

2. Avengers: Endgame

3. Titanic

4. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

5. Avengers: Infinity War

6. Jurassic World

7. The Lion King (2019)

8. The Avengers

9. Furious 7

10. Frozen II

The shift in the box office charts doesn't make much of a difference when it comes to studio domination. Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, they have the top two spots locked down no matter which one comes out at #1. In fact, they're responsible for seven of the top 10 highest grossing movies of all time, so Disney remains the dominant studio at the box office.

Now the question is whether Marvel Studios gives Avengers: Endgame another theatrical run in an attempt to take back the title. There's not a huge margin of difference between the two movies, and with theaters opening back up and audiences hungry for a blockbuster experience on the big screen again, there may be enough interest to get Avengers: Endgame back on top. At the same time, I'm sure there will be a big US re-release leading up to the arrival of Avatar 2, so that will probably turn the tables again. Disney will just keep going round and round fighting itself at the box office.