That didn’t take long. Less than two years after Avengers: Endgame passed Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time, Avatar has now returned to the top spot. The James Cameron film was rereleased in Chinese theaters this weekend and grossed $21.1 million to take its international total to $2,050.3 million and worldwide sum to $2,810.8 million. During its original run in 2019, Endgame earned $2,797.5 million.
In China, Avatar grossed $3.5 million on Friday and then grew to $21.1 million. The opening represents the highest re-issue opening weekend since the health crisis began, ahead of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone‘s $14.6 million last August.
IMAX theaters delivered $6.2 million of the Avatar total this weekend, which amounts to an impressive 30% of the box office. IMAX has now earned a lifetime box office of $249.5 million with the movie, which remains the highest-grossing IMAX film of all time as well.
“A big screen sized thank you to IMAX for their contribution to the success of Avatar at the box office. We know that we can always rely on IMAX to offer audiences quality premium cinema experiences,” said Avatar producer Jon Landau.
“’Avatar’ changed everything for IMAX — catapulting our brand into the stratosphere and putting us on the map in China — and we’re grateful to help James, Jon, and this watershed film further cement their place in cinematic history,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “Yet again, Chinese moviegoers are demonstrating the pent-up demand for theatrical blockbusters that awaits cinemas around the world as they reopen, and IMAX continues help lead the recovery of the global movie business.”
At the domestic box office, Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon remained in first place with $5.5 million. The Walt Disney Animation Studios title dropped by just 35% in ticket sales and has now brought in $15.8 million after two weeks in North America. The film is also available on the Disney+ streaming service with an additional Premier Access fee of $29.99.
International, Raya and the Last Dragon added $11.5 million from 44 markets and is up to $36.8 million, for a global total of $52.6 million. The top overseas markets include China ($14.6 million), Russia ($7.4 million) and Australia ($2.5 million).
Raya and the Last Dragon features a voice cast including Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Izaac Wang, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, Jona Xiao, Sandra Oh, Thalia Tran, Lucille Soong, Alan Tudyk, Gordon Ip, Dichen Lachman, Patti Harrison, Jon “Dumbfoundead” Park, Sung Kang, Sierra Katow, Ross Butler, François Chau and Paul Yen.
Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada directed Raya and the Last Dragon, while Paul Briggs and John Ripa co-directed. Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim wrote the screenplay.
Remaining in second place was Warner Bros. Pictures‘ Tom & Jerry, which collected $4.1 million its third weekend and has grossed $28.2 million in North America. Tom & Jerry is also available on WarnerMedia’s own streaming service HBO Max, though at no extra charge. Internationally, Tom & Jerry brought in $2.6 million and is up to $38.7 million, for a worldwide total of $66.9 million.
Tom & Jerry was directed by Tim Story from a script by Kevin Costello. It is based on characters created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Rob Delaney, Colin Jost, and Ken Jeong.
And keeping its third spot was Lionsgate‘s sci-fi adaptation Chaos Walking, which made $2.25 million and has earned $6.9 million after two weeks in theaters.
Chaos Walking is based on the book The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. It was directed by Doug Liman from a script by Ness and Christopher Ford. The film stars Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas, Kurt Sutter, and David Oyelowo.