'Avatar' Re-Release In China Could See James Cameron Reclaim Box Office Crown From 'Avengers: Endgame'
You better watch your ass, Avengers: Endgame, because James Cameron is gunning for you. Cameron's Avatar, a huge blockbuster that also feels like something no one wants to see again, is headed back to theaters in China. The Avatar re-release in China has seemingly come out of nowhere, but if Cameron's sci-fi epic takes in just $7.4 million at the Chinese box office it will reclaim its title as the all-time biggest box office hit, dethroning current titleholder Endgame.
For a while there, James Cameron's Avatar was the biggest box office hit of all time. And then along came Avengers: Endgame, which went on to claim the top spot (it's sitting at $2,797,800,564). But Avatar might have found a way to reclaim the throne and kick Avengers: Endgame into the gutter (and by gutter I mean the number two spot). According to THR, "China's Film Bureau has approved a surprise plan for the director's 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar to get a wide re-release in the country on Friday, according to two sources at Chinese movie theater companies, which were informed of the arrangements."
It's not entirely clear why Avatar is returning to theaters, but here's the deal: if Avatar earns $7.4 million at the box office during this re-release, it will reclaim the biggest box office earner title from Endgame. Of course, both films are owned by Disney at this point, so they're going to win either way. Still, it would be very funny for Avatar to randomly return to theaters and knock Endgame out of the top spot.
As of now, the top 10 box office earners of all time are:
1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Avatar
3. Titanic
4. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
5. Avengers: Infinity War
6. Jurassic World
7. The Lion King (2019)
8. The Avengers
9. Furious 7
10. Frozen II
Released in 2009, Avatar follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralyzed former Marine who links his mind into a human/alien hybrid body and infiltrates the world of the Na'vi, an alien race that lives on the planet of Pandora. The film was a big deal in 2009, primarily due to its special effects and advanced 3D technology. Cameron has spent the last few years putting together a whole slew of sequels, but the question that lingers is: does anyone actually want those sequels? Yes, the first film was clearly a smash hit, but it also now feels like a movie no one has much interest in. Perhaps this re-release in China is a test run to see if anyone, anywhere, is still interested in returning to Pandora.