Avengers: Endgame has reclaimed its position as the highest-grossing film of all time after a limited return to cinemas seven years after its original release.
Disney and Marvel Studios reissued the 2019 blockbuster as Avengers: Endgame Encore on 25 September, adding several minutes of footage linked to December’s Avengers: Doomsday, alongside an introduction from Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans.
The rerelease opened with $26 million (£19.5 million) in domestic ticket sales and $86 million worldwide. It became the third-biggest domestic opening for a rerelease, behind the 1997 special edition of Star Wars and the 2011 3D version of The Lion King.
Although takings fell by more than 80% in the second weekend, the film added a further $18.8 million globally. Its rerelease has now brought in about $126 million worldwide, lifting its lifetime total to $2.9255 billion.
That puts Endgame narrowly ahead of James Cameron’s Avatar, which has a lifetime total of $2.9237 billion. The Marvel film originally took the record in 2019, before losing it when Avatar returned to cinemas in China in 2021.
David A Gross, a box office analyst, said rereleases rarely make more than $10 million. The performance of Endgame Encore, which has been available to stream for years, underlines the continuing strength of established film franchises.
Avengers: Endgame rerelease highlights Hollywood’s franchise dependence
The result comes after a summer in which the film industry appeared to be divided between renewed interest in original ideas and the enduring pull of familiar intellectual property.
In 2019, nine films earned more than $1 billion worldwide, and all were sequels, remakes or spin-offs. The pandemic and the streaming wars subsequently disrupted cinema-going habits, while major franchises including Marvel, DC and Star Wars struggled to reproduce their earlier commercial and critical success.
Marvel’s decline was particularly pronounced after Endgame. Between 2020 and this summer, only Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine among its films passed the $1 billion mark. Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps made about $1.3 billion between them last year, less than half of Endgame’s individual total.
There were signs this summer that audiences might be turning towards original material. Curry Barker’s Obsession, made for less than $1 million, has grossed more than $500 million worldwide, while Kane Parsons’s Backrooms became A24’s biggest hit after being adapted from his own web series.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey also became a major cultural and box office success. By contrast, Masters of the Universe, Supergirl and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu underperformed, while newer entries such as Minions & Monsters and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailed their predecessors.
That balance shifted again with the arrival of established brands. Toy Story 5 opened with $312 million globally and went on to pass $1.14 billion, exceeding the total of Toy Story 4.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, released on 31 July, also eased concerns about superhero fatigue. It recorded a $168 million opening day, remained at number one for six consecutive weekends and has taken about $2.5 billion worldwide.
The Spider-Man films are distributed by Sony, but Marvel Studios co-produces them and they form part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film’s performance is expected to strengthen anticipation for Avengers: Doomsday.
The record-setting summer, which generated $4.76 billion domestically, was nearly 10% ahead of 2019 before adjusting for inflation. Alongside hits based on existing properties, original films including The Odyssey, Michael, Project Hail Mary and Obsession ranked among the year’s 10 highest-grossing releases worldwide.
The contest between established franchises and original projects will continue through the remainder of the year, with Wildwood and DC Studios’ Clayface due on 23 October, followed by The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on 20 November. Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three are scheduled to open on the same day, 18 December.
