Disney is Re-Releasing Avengers: Endgame with New Footage in an Attempt to Break Avatar’s Box Office Record

Walt Disney Co. will try to close the global box-office gap between its mega-blockbuster film “Avengers: Endgame” and James Cameron’s “Avatar” next weekend.

The superhero sequel will reenter theaters with new footage that wasn’t included in the first release, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told ComicBook.com in an interview posted Wednesday. Feige didn’t specify the additional scenes, but they’ll add a bit more to a run time that’s already over three hours. Disney didn’t immediately respond to requests for further comment.

“Avengers: Endgame” has grossed $2.743 billion worldwide since its April release, according to Box Office Mojo, while 2009’s “Avatar” leads with an all-time record of $2.788 billion — not adjusted for inflation.

The rerelease comes as Hollywood is enduring a downbeat summer movie season so far, with the North American gross of last weekend’s top 10 films down 52% from the same period a year ago.

Having the box-office leader is a key bragging right for Hollywood studios. But in Disney’s case, it’s the winner either way. Disney now controls the “Avatar” studio, 20th Century Fox, and is gearing up to release a series of sequels to the science-fiction epic starting in 2021.