James Cameron’s Avatar has been approved for a surprise re-release by China’s Film Bureau, bringing the film back to theaters all over the country on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- The re-release will see Avatar available in both IMAX 3D and ordinary 3D,
- The surprise re-release could see the film retake the top spot for highest-grossing film of all-time, a title currently held by Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame.
- Endgame currently sits at $2.797 billion in worldwide box office gross with Avatar just behind it at $2.790 billion.
- Avatar would need to earn just under $7.4 million to reclaim the top spot.
- During its initial release, Avatar earned $202.6 million and held the top spot for the country for four years, when it was surpassed by Stephen Chow's Journey to the West, which brought in $215 million in 2013.
More on the Avatar:
- Cameron recently confirmed the long-rumored titles of the next four Avatar films are:
- The Way of Water
- The Seed Bearer
- The Tulkun Rider
- The Quest for Eywa
- The first sequel was originally planned to hit theaters December 17, 2021, with the next three films following on the same weekend over the next few years. That changed with the most recent round of delays to the film release schedule:
- Cameron and Fox announced the target releases of the sequels ahead of the opening of Pandora – the World of Avatar in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.