In 2009, James Cameron’s Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all-time with a whopping $2.78 billion box office haul. In 2019, The Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Endgame took the Na’vi Nation’s title with a super $2.81 billion global haul. Then, in 2021, a cheeky Avatar re-release saw Cameron’s sci-fi smash reclaim the top spot, with its lifetime total now sitting at an eye-watering $2.92 billion. Now, in the latest round of the battle between cinema’s biggest A-named blockbusters, Avengers: Endgame Encore has just assembled itself an impressive $86 million worldwide opening weekend, reopening the race for that coveted all-time No. 1 spot.
Per Variety‘s reporting, Endgame Encore — which comes boasting four tantalising new scenes that help tee up the Russos’ forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday — took $26 million in North America and $60 million overseas as fans flocked to their nearest IMAX/Infinity Vision equipped multiplex to relive the end of the Infinity Saga and usher in the beginning of the end of the Multiverse Saga. As a result, the MCU blockbuster’s current overall box office cume to date has now bumped up to $2.88 billion, placing it just $39 million behind Jake Sully’s first Pandoran adventure.
With Endgame Encore largely serving as an appetiser for the MCU’s main 2026 cinematic event, Avengers: Doomsday (now releaseing on December 16 in the UK), there’s every chance that Marvel Studios’ well-timed re-release will see Endgame take the all-time box office record once more before its run is through. But after Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s wild $2.48 billion box office run this summer, the big question is surely whether Doomsday can mount a serious challenge for No. 1 itself. As we come to the final stretch of Hollywood’s best year since records began, with the MCU finally back back, all bets are off. Who knows? The first ever $3 billion movie might be mere weeks away… watch this space!
