For over two decades, James Cameron was the director of the highest-grossing movie ever made, knocking himself off the top spot back in 2009 when Avatar eclipsed Titanic. He may have publicly congratulated Marvel Studios and Avengers: Endgame after the conclusion the Infinity Saga finally toppled the Na’vi in the summer of 2019, but you can bet he wasn’t a happy bunny behind the scenes.
Cameron is hardly a shrinking violet, and he’s known for being a fairly disagreeable presence when things don’t go his way, so it wasn’t a surprise that he would later claim that Endgame only bested Avatar due to a rounding error. We all thought that the next serious threat to snag the title of cinema’s biggest-ever commercial hit would be Avatar 2, but the original has once again managed to recapture the flag after being re-released in China.
The first outing to Pandora only needed less than $8 million to depose Endgame, and analysts are predicting that the re-release could bring in as much as $60 million by the time the movie has run its course in local theaters. Conceding graciously, Marvel Studios took to social media to congratulate Cameron and Avatar, and you can see what they have to say below.
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
Of course, the real winners here are Disney, who own both properties. The only major blockbusters on the horizon that stand any conceivable chance of replicating the financial success of Avatar or Avengers: Endgame will ironically be either Cameron’s sequels or the next outing for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but there’s always the possibility that the Mouse House could eventually re-release the latter as well, locking the two in a battle for supremacy that lasts for years, if not decades to come.