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James Cameron celebrated Avengers: Endgame beating Avatar at the box office with another social media post after the two movies traded places yet again.
The director behind the smash-hit sci-fi franchise brought Iron Man to the world of Pandora with an image he shared on Instagram today. The update arrived after Marvel Studios’ recent re-release, Avengers: Endgame Encore, managed to bring in enough cash to (re)secure its place as the highest-grossing film of all time.
“‘You are one of the people,'” the post, accompanied by a picture of Iron Man surrounded by Na’vi, said. “Congratulations to Marvel and the #1 Avengers: Endgame: Encore for bringing moviegoers to the cinemas – Jim Cameron.”
It’s more friendly competition in the movie space that is only the latest update in a race that has seen Avatar and Avengers: Endgame trading titles for years. Marvel originally overtook Avatar’s record as the highest-grossing movie in the world when it released in 2019. Cameron shared a similarly congratulatory post at the time but later went on to predict that Avatar would reclaim the throne just a few months later. He was proven right in 2021.
As Avatar sequels The Way of Water and Fire and Ash came and went, so too did more Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. As Marvel prepared for the release of its new team-up movie, Avengers: Doomsday, this December, it saw an opportunity to revisit the events of Endgame with new bonus footage, thrusting it into the future by revisiting the past.
It was a re-release that proved fruitful for the comic book movie company, with Avengers: Endgame going on to nab a big opening weekend at the box office. Despite a massive drop in its second return weekend in theaters, the film reclaimed its title as the highest-grossing movie ever.
Re-releases and original premieres included, the final tally, as shared by Box Office Mojo, puts Marvel and the Russo brothers’ Avengers: Endgame in first with $2.938 billion and Cameron’s Avatar in second with $2.923 billion. Both movies are within spitting distance of the fabled $3 billion number and still miles ahead of this year’s third-place champion, Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($2.513 billion). Whether either of them will ever trade places again remains to be seen.
At least in terms of IGN reviews, Avengers: Endgame still came out on top. We gave the Marvel movie a 9.5/10 review at the time of its release in 2019. Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi movie earned a 9/10.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
