Avatar (2009) earned $2,743,577,587 in its original release and $2,923,710,708 across all releases worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo lifetime tracker. Subtracting the original total leaves about $180.13 million from all reissues, or about 6.2% of the lifetime worldwide gross.
The film is James Cameron's science-fiction adventure set on Pandora. Original release means the first theatrical run that began in December 2009 across 77 markets, in Box Office Mojo's grouping. Lifetime means that run plus every later reissue, with domestic covering the United States and Canada and international covering other markets.
Table of Contents
- How big was the original run?
- Where did the reissue money come from?
- Why did small reissues decide the record?
- How should you use original versus lifetime totals?
How big was the original run?
Box Office Mojo attributes $749,766,139 domestic and $1,993,811,448 international to the original release in its original-release breakdown. Those parts add to $2,743,577,587 worldwide.
That first run supplies almost all of the lifetime total. It reached 77 markets after opening in December 2009.
Where did the reissue money come from?
Box Office Mojo figures show three large reissues explain almost all of the $180.13 million reissue share. Each added a distinct worldwide amount.
The 2010 entry was an extended Special Edition cut, in Box Office Mojo figures reported by Screen Rant. The 2021 entry was a China rerelease covered by Collider, while the 2022 remaster arrived ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water per SlashFilm.
- 2010 Special Edition extended cut: $44,838,548 worldwide, with $10,741,486 domestic and $34,097,062 international.
- March 2021 China re-release: about $58 million worldwide.
- September 2022 remastered worldwide re-release ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water: about $76 million worldwide.
Why did small reissues decide the record?
The March 2021 China re-release added $57,995,770, in Box Office Mojo figures. That put Avatar at about $2.798 billion, past Avengers: Endgame at $2.797 billion.
Collider reported the result returned the all-time lead to rights holder Disney/20th Century Studios Collider report on the China re-release. The September 2022 remaster added about $76 million worldwide ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water. SlashFilm noted that push lifted Avatar past $2.9 billion as the first film to cross that nominal threshold.
How should you use original versus lifetime totals?
Treat all dollars here as nominal, not adjusted for inflation. Always name the tracker, because Box Office Mojo is the source for the totals above.
Chart the original run apart from lifetime when you compare films. The Numbers shows $2,923,706,026 lifetime, a few thousand dollars below Mojo's $2,923,710,708, so mixing trackers can mislead.