Okay, I don’t think I can stand to write another story about AOC today so I’m going with this.

Earlier this month it looked unlikely Avengers: Endgame would probably not become the top-grossing film of all time. Despite its huge success internationally, the film was just under $50 million behind James Cameron’s Avatar. And with Endgame’s time in theaters winding down as new releases like Toy Story 4 were poised to take over, it seemed impossible to make up the difference. When I wrote about this ten days ago I suggested there was only one-way Avatar could possibly get the top spot: a re-release.

Usually, a re-release of a film happens sometime after the original release, perhaps years later. In this case, that’s not an option if Marvel wants to make a grab for the top spot now. So the studio is doing something unusual. It’s going to release a new version of the film with previously deleted scenes added back in:

While attending the Spider-Man: Far From Home press junket in London, ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis spoke exclusively with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who confirmed that Avengers: Endgame was heading back to the big screen for a theatrical re-release. Not only that, but this version of the film will arrive with extra scenes that weren’t included in the first theatrical release.

“We are doing that,” Feige said of an Endgame re-release with new footage. “I don’t know if it’s been announced. And I don’t know how much… Yeah, we’re doing it next weekend.”

That seems like a good strategy but I wonder if it will be enough. According to BoxOfficeMojo, Endgame needs to make an additional $44 million to take the top spot. That’s quite a bit more than the movie has made so far in the month of June (domestically). Only 30.3% of the film’s total gross has come from the domestic box office though. So if Marvel wants a real shot at pulling this off, they’re going to have to re-release the film everywhere.

I’m rooting for them to pull it off. Avatar has been the top film for a long time and a lot of people don’t seem as fond of it as they were a decade ago. Let’s see if Marvel can pull this off and claim the biggest bragging rights in Hollywood for a few years. It’s sort of like the box office version of this: