"Avengers: Endgame" is preparing to surpass $3 billion at the box office – partly thanks to new color grading

Re-releases stopped being a nostalgic nod to classics a while ago and turned into their own revenue stream. Studios bring films back for anniversaries, for sequels, for basically any excuse, and now they're also tweaking the picture itself so that people who've already seen a movie a dozen times still buy a ticket.

The latest example comes from Avengers: Endgame, now getting an Encore release. Marvel first dropped a new trailer, and then fresh footage from the upcoming version started circulating online:

Side-by-side comparisons that spread across social media show a noticeably different color grading: scenes look warmer and more contrasty than the 2019 original, with Marvel signature teal-and-orange palette pushed toward richer tones. It's technically the same movie, but visually a different experience, especially on a big screen.

The math behind this re-release is more interesting than the color grading itself. Endgame settled at around $2.799 billion in worldwide box office, while Avatar sits at roughly $2.923 billion after its 2021 Chinese re-release. That's a gap of a little over $120 million, and Marvel movie needs about $200 million more to hit the symbolic $3 billion mark.

Past examples suggest these numbers are within reach. Back in summer 2019, an extended cut with bonus scenes added nearly $48 million in North America alone, and Avatar pulled in roughly $57 million during its Chinese re-release. An Encore version with a full international rollout and IMAX screenings could easily match or beat those figures.

Marvel is prepping Avengers: Doomsday for December 2026, and bringing older entries back to theaters works as free marketing for audiences who've lost track of the Infinity Saga storylines. The extra footage and rerecorded scenes give fans a new way to revisit the events that led to the showdown with Doctor Doom.

At the same time, Marvel gets a shot at reclaiming the title of highest-grossing film of all time, currently held by James Cameron. If the $3 billion mark actually falls, it would be the first time any film has reached that milestone.

Avengers: Endgame returns to theaters on September 25.