Quick TakeArticle at a glance
- Avengers: Endgame overtakes Avatar again to reclaim the title of highest-grossing movie of all time.
- Deadline first reported it Saturday, October 4, 2026: Avengers: Endgame has passed Avatar to become the highest-grossing film in history, for the second time.
- Endgame now sits around $2.925 billion worldwide, Avatar around $2.923 billion — a gap of roughly $2 million after more than $5.8 billion combined in ticket sales between the two films.
Avengers: Endgame overtakes Avatar again to reclaim the title of highest-grossing movie of all time. Deadline confirmed the flip on October 4, 2026, after a limited theatrical “Encore” re-release pushed Endgame’s worldwide total to roughly $2.925 billion, edging past Avatar’s $2.923 billion by one of the thinnest margins in box-office history.
What Happened
Deadline first reported it Saturday, October 4, 2026: Avengers: Endgame has passed Avatar to become the highest-grossing film in history, for the second time. The push came from Avengers: Endgame Encore, a limited theatrical re-release that opened September 25 with a handful of new scenes setting up Avengers: Doomsday. Two weekends of Encore grosses were enough to tip the scales.
It is close. Endgame now sits around $2.925 billion worldwide, Avatar around $2.923 billion — a gap of roughly $2 million after more than $5.8 billion combined in ticket sales between the two films. Whichever version of the numbers you trust down to the dollar, nobody is arguing about which movie currently holds the crown.
How Thin the Margin Actually Is
| Avengers: Endgame | Avatar | |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide gross (Oct 2026) | ~$2.925 billion | ~$2.923 billion |
| Original release | April 2019 | December 2009 |
| What pushed the record | “Encore” re-release, Sept 25, 2026 | Multiple re-releases, 2020–2022 |
| Added by latest re-release | ~$126 million over 2 weekends | — |
Why Endgame Is Back in Theaters
The Encore re-release isn’t really a victory lap — it’s a setup play. The new cut adds a handful of scenes, including post-credits material that ties directly into Avengers: Doomsday, which opens December 18, 2026. We broke down exactly what’s new in our look at the Endgame Encore re-release. Disney scheduled the return almost exactly twelve weeks ahead of Doomsday, which is also why the timing lines up so neatly with Avatar’s record.
The Crown Has Changed Hands Before
This is the third time the title has flipped between these two movies, not the first, as TheWrap notes in its own rundown. Endgame first passed Avatar’s original box office total in July 2019, a few months after its own release. Avatar took it back in March 2021 when James Cameron sent it back into Chinese theaters. Now, five years later, Endgame has edged back in front — and whichever film wins the next round will probably do it by re-release, not a new box office run.
What the Analysts Are Saying
“Avatar set a record that was seemingly unconquerable and held the title of highest-grossing movie of all time for about a decade,” Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Deadline. He added that it took “an ‘end of an era’ Marvel blockbuster to take the crown after posting the biggest opening weekend ever, breaking numerous box office land speed records” — and that Endgame is still cashing in on that goodwill seven years later.
What’s Next
Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18, 2026, and it’s the real reason any of this matters commercially. Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom, and the Encore footage is being used to set that film up directly — see our full rundown of everything confirmed about Avengers: Doomsday. Whether Endgame holds the record once Doomsday’s own box office run begins is an open question — Marvel’s next mega-crossover could end up chasing down its own predecessor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Avengers: Endgame really the highest-grossing movie of all time?
As of October 2026, yes. Endgame’s worldwide total, boosted by the September 2026 “Encore” re-release, sits at roughly $2.925 billion, just ahead of Avatar’s roughly $2.923 billion.
Why did Avengers: Endgame return to theaters in 2026?
Disney re-released it as Avengers: Endgame Encore on September 25, 2026, with new footage tied to Avengers: Doomsday, which opens December 18, 2026.
How much has the Encore re-release added to Endgame’s total?
Roughly $126 million across its first two weekends in theaters, which was enough to push Endgame back past Avatar’s total.
Has Avatar held this record the whole time?
No. Endgame first passed Avatar’s total in 2019, Avatar reclaimed it in 2021 after a re-release in China, and Endgame has now passed it again in 2026.
Is this the unadjusted or inflation-adjusted record?
Unadjusted worldwide gross. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, older films like Gone with the Wind rank well ahead of both Endgame and Avatar, which use a different, much more common ranking method based on raw box office dollars.
