The Reason Avengers: Endgame Still Might Not Surpass Avatar After Re-Release

Avengers: Endgame is back in theatre, but will it be enough to surpass Avatar?

Avengers: Endgame is back in theatres, it is as much a publicity stunt and hype builder for Spider-Man: Far From Home as it's the last push by Marvel to dethrone Avatar from its perch of the highest grossing movie ever.

Seems the push won't be enough for the set target of the movie. This will be a bummer for the two stars of the film, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., as they are urging fans to see the movie and make history.

With $2.76 billion worldwide, Endgame is still $26 million shy of the coveted record to dominate the global box office. Endgame re-release did decent business at the box office, making $5.5 million in the US and $2.3 million international. But that amount won't push the movie over the top.

Re-release and the response by the fans was a good one, but the arguable thing here is just six minutes of content was not enticing enough to garner the same amount of enthusiasm that swept the country in the opening weekend.

Watch: The trailer for Avengers Endgame

The problem for Endgame with its race against Avatar is a straightforward one. Avatar was a perfect storm, it was released during the Christmas period, by any measure, Christmas time is the leggiest movie release dates ever in a calendar year. Avatar didn't have a record-shattering opening weekend, but it was a steady earner which was in the movie theatre for almost 250 days. That type of staying power is not possible anymore.

The new technologies used by James Cameron was also a turning point in the movie industry. The success of 3D early on was because of Avatar, and now it does feel like the movie was a technological marvel and that is all it was. People had never seen 3D of that caliber before, and when the movie was released, word of mouth carried the film deep into summer time.

Watch: The trailer for the first Avatar movie

If you don't believe us, take a look at the numbers posted by Alice in Wonderland around the same time. The movie was scheduled to be a 2D release, but then the success of 3D caused Disney to Make it 3D in post-production. 'Alice in Wonderland' made over $1 billion.

3D was an excellent tool for Avatar; people wanted to experience the feel of the movie inside a theatre, still for Marvel to manage to get people on seats in a time where people are going to the movie theatre less and less is a feat in itself.

Endgame did make a mistake in re-releasing the film with just six minutes of extra content. They should have marketed the re-release as a director's cut which will only be shown inside a theatre and not released on DVD or Blu-ray. Fans were clamoring for an even longer movie, and if Marvel had decided to finish the cut scenes and release a content that exceeded 20 minutes of extra footage, then fans would've lined up to watch the movie again.

The perfect storm that was Avatar will never be replicated again as more and more people decide to catch up on movies in the comfort of their own homes. But still for Endgame to come within touching distance of the title is commendable.

There are no prizes for second place, but Endgame fought a good fight. It seems Marvel isn't giving up just yet though as the top brass are willing to keep the movie throughout the summer to get as much close to Avatar as they can and then maybe re-release the film again on the heels of The Lion King.

There are still some options left for the studio to push the movie over the top. The opportunities are shrinking, and there is not much time left, but Marvel and Disney are giving it all.

When the movie finally leaves the theatre, it may not be the highest grossing film ever, but it will be a fascinating battle to keep an eye on over the next month and a half.