Thanks to Avengers: Endgame Encore, Marvel’s 2019 superhero ensemble has once again become the highest-grossing movie in box office history, reclaiming the title from 2009’s Avatar.
As reported by Variety, Avengers: Endgame has now garnered US$2.925 billion worldwide thanks to its recent Encore release, inching it above Avatar’s US$2.923 billion. The two films have been fighting for the top spot over the years, with James Cameron’s sci-fi epic spending a decade with the crown until Endgame overtook it in 2019, only for Avatar to once again reclaim the top spot when it returned to theatres to build hype for its 2021 sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, and now Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has reclaimed the throne once more.
No matter which film is at the top, the clear winner here is still Disney, which owns both the Marvel and Avatar film franchises after merging with 20th Century Fox in 2019. The studio is also gearing up for the launch of Avengers: Doomsday – the film which Encore was released to hype up – in December, with the sequel likely to set box office records of its own.
Featuring roughly three minutes of new footage that helps contextualise the events of Doomsday, Avengers: Endgame Encore launched in theatres in September 2026, and saw the debut of Disney’s new premium large format certification, Infinity Vision, with its Infinity Vision and IMAX versions also including an additional four minutes of Doomsday footage. Encore has now garnered over US$126 million worldwide, a truly impressive feat for a re-release.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Doomsday will take place after the events of Endgame and see a reunion of nearly every superhero in Marvel’s roster as they team up once more to face the biggest threat the multiverse has ever faced, Doctor Doom, who will be portrayed by Robert Downey Jr following his long-running role as Tony Stark/Iron Man. The sequel will open in theatres on 17 December 2026.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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