‘Avatar’ reclaims title as highest-grossing film of all time

More than a decade on from its release, Avatar is once again the highest-grossing film of all time. The James Cameron’s 2009 science-fiction blockbuster reclaimed the coveted title from Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame. The film stars Zoe Zaldana, Sam Worthington, and Sigourney Weaver. It managed the impressive feat over the weekend after it was re-released in China.

Avatar usurped Cameron’s romance and disaster epic Titanic. It became the top-grossing film in cinematic history back in 2010. The movie held the global box office title until 2019. However, it was dethroned by Avengers: Endgame. According to a Variety report, the 2009 film was rereleased in China. It earned $3.5 million, making its sales total to $2.802 billion over the weekend.

Prior to its re-release in China on Friday, Avatar had grossed around $760 million in the United States. They garnered over $2 billion internationally. This information came from the Box office statistics website, BoxOfficeMojo.com. With renewed interest from Chinese audiences, it garnered enough in ticket sales. This took its box office gross past $2.8 billion and earn its crown back.

“We are proud to reach this great milestone, but Jim and I are most thrilled that the film is back in theaters during these unprecedented times, and we want to thank our Chinese fans for their support,” producer Jon Landau said.
“We are hard at work on the next Avatar films and look forward to sharing the continuation of this epic story for years to come,” he added.

Marvel Studios congratulated the producers of Avatar making this extra special. Despite placing second, they released a video showing the two movies’ logo on Saturday.

“Congratulations to @JimCameron, @JonLandau, and ALL of Na’vi Nation for reclaiming the box office crown! We love you 3000. @OfficialAvatar,” they wrote on the caption.

Congratulations to @JimCameron ,@JonLandau , and ALL of Na'vi Nation for reclaiming the box office crown! We love you 3000. @OfficialAvatar pic.twitter.com/WlMWRcL15y
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 13, 2021

Currenty, there exists four sequels to Avatar in the works. The next installment of the Avatar franchise has been delayed several times. Fortunately, it now has a new schedule for release in December 2022. The Avengers: Endgame movie took the top spot in 2019 when it made an impressive feat of $2.7902 billion in global ticket sales, slightly surpassing $2.7897 billion from Avatar.