Over a decade after it first came out, James Cameron’s science-fiction blockbuster Avatar is once again the highest-grossing movie of all time, reports the AVClub. This comes after Avengers: Endgame successfully surpassed this record by earning $2.798 billion worldwide. But then, Avatar was re-released in cinemas overseas last weekend, where it grossed $5.8 million in China alone, bringing its total worldwide earnings up to $2.811 billion.
The reason for this success should be familiar to our readers since it ties with several things we reported about throughout the last year. COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into both movie production and distribution. A year after the WHO warned about the dangers of the new pandemic, numerous cinemas remain closed. This, in turn, forced major studios to hold on to their big-budget titles, aware they have almost no chance of recuperating their production cost in the middle of a pandemic.
Instead, studios began re-releasing their older successful titles. Movies like The Goonies, Jaws, and Jurassic Park reached the top of the US box office again because there was no competition. It is therefore hardly surprising Disney would choose to re-release Cameron’s sci-fi extravaganza in cinemas. Especially since the director, writer, and producer of Avatar is currently filming sequels in pandemic-free New Zealand, with the principal photography for at least one of them already done.
