‘Avatar’ Retakes Box Office Crown from ‘Endgame’
James Cameron’s Avatar reigns supreme once again.
When it was announced last week that Avatar would get a surprise re-release in China, a country that isn’t worrying much about COVID-19 anymore, most of us knew it could very well retake the global box office crown from Avengers: Endgame. After all, only a few million dollars separated it from Marvel Studios’ monstruous $2.79 billion booty. And yes, it has happened.
James Cameron’s sci-fi epic bagged an impressive haul of over $21 million over the weekend, which put the behemoth past the $2.80 billion mark. There’s certainly gas left in that ship.
This also bodes well for next year’s (maybe) arrival of the first of the planned sequels to the 2009 film. Of course, big and flashy fantasy and sci-fi epics always make a killing at the Chinese box office; Aquaman had nearly hit $300 million by the end of its theatrical run. But this film is almost 12 years old and has been re-released in a time when, even in China, box office numbers are nowhere near normal levels. No matter how you spin it, this is an imposing plunder.
As it was official by Saturday that Avatar had outgrossed Endgame, the Marvel Studios folks congratulated James Cameron, producer Jon Landau, and the rest of the team via Twitter:
Congratulations to @JimCameron ,@JonLandau , and ALL of Na'vi Nation for reclaiming the box office crown! We love you 3000. @OfficialAvatar pic.twitter.com/WlMWRcL15y
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 13, 2021
It’s all healthy, friendly competition for the filmmakers, but who’s really winning here is Disney; they now own both franchises, neither of which are showing any signs of loss of profitability.
Once we are past COVID-19, Disney should be 100% back in the business of world domination, now boosted by their massive Disney Plus sub numbers, plus an ever-expanding catalogue of high-profile releases and properties to sequelize, prequelize, reboot, and remake until the end of days. This is the future we chose.
Right now, the Avatar sequels are aiming to hit theaters on:
- December 16, 2022.
- December 20, 2024.
- December 18, 2026.
- December 22, 2028.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
