Endgame's lead over Avatar is $2 million, which one James Cameron re-release weekend could wipe out
Cameron has congratulated Marvel on beating him three times now, and the last time he took the record back. Whichever film ends up on top, the same company banks the money.
James Cameron posted a congratulations card to Marvel on Instagram on 16 October 2026, twelve days after Avengers: Endgame became the highest-grossing film ever for the second time. The artwork puts Iron Man in the middle of a Na'vi clan, Jake and Neytiri with their hands on his armour, under the line the Na'vi use when they adopt an outsider: "You are one of the people." The rest of the message thanked Marvel and Avengers: Endgame Encore for bringing audiences back to cinemas.
The numbers behind the card are tiny. Disney's Encore re-release, timed to sell Avengers: Doomsday, took the 2019 film to $2.9255 billion worldwide by 4 October, against $2.9237 billion for Avatar. That is a lead of $1.8 million. Encore made $18.8 million around the world in its second weekend alone, ten times the gap.
The third card in seven years
Cameron has written this card before. Twice, in fact, both in 2019. The second time, the record came back to him within two years, which is worth remembering when you read this one:
- May 2019: Endgame passes Titanic. Cameron posts an Avengers-branded iceberg and admits it took the Avengers to sink his ship.
- July 2019: Endgame passes Avatar. Cameron posts Iron Man surrounded by Pandora's woodsprites, with "I see you" in Na'vi.
- 2021: Avatar goes back into cinemas ahead of The Way of Water and takes the crown back.
- October 2026: Encore returns the favour. Card number three.
He congratulated Marvel once, then reclaimed the record with a film he'd made twelve years earlier, without shooting a single new frame. Being gracious is easy when you have done the comeback already. The Iron Man artwork isn't a white flag. It's a man who knows exactly how many re-releases Avatar has left in it.
Both rackets belong to Disney
Here's the cheeky bit. Avatar was a 20th Century Fox release, and Fox's film business has belonged to Disney since 2019. Whichever film is on top, the same company banks it: with the Fox library, Disney is responsible for seven of the ten highest-grossing films ever. Reddit has noticed.
"Disney just gonna keep on passing the medal back and forth to itself."
— a user on r/popculturechat
The top comment on r/boxoffice put it more wearily: "are we just going to do this dance forever as each movie re-releases every few years". That is now the format. Avatar has had five re-releases. Encore has added $126 million on its own and opened to $86 million worldwide, the second-biggest re-release launch ever. The only one bigger was Titanic 3D in 2012. Cameron again.
The biggest film of all time is now whichever one Disney returned to cinemas last.
So the title no longer measures which film more people went to see. It measures who put their film back on screens most recently, and how close to a sequel.
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What happens next
Avengers: Doomsday opens on 18 December, against Dune: Part Three, and Marvel fans on r/boxoffice reckon it and Secret Wars will make sure Avatar never gets back to No 1. That's a bit of a stretch for a franchise coming off an uneven post-pandemic run, but Doomsday doesn't need to win the all-time chart. Endgame only needs to stay ahead of Avatar, and Avatar only needs one decent weekend.
Fans on r/movies have already pencilled in December 2029, the 20th anniversary of the original. On the 4 October figures, a fresh re-release would likely wipe out $1.8 million before its first Saturday. Cameron can afford to send nice cards. The record is one weekend away, and the company that would put Avatar back in cinemas is the one that just did it for Endgame.
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