The Avatar re-release fends off Don't Worry Darling to win the global box office

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The highest-grossing movie of all time adds $30 million to its global gross

Zoe Saldaña in Avatar
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Despite first being released in cinemas over 13 years ago, Avatar remains a force to be reckoned with at the box office. The movie, which has been re-released following a 4K digital remaster by director James Cameron, grossed $30.5 million over the weekend, beating newcomer Don't Worry Darling, which took $30 million.

Those numbers come from Deadline, which notes that Avatar did particularly well globally, taking $10 million in North America and $20.5 million outside of the country. Of note, 75% of all ticket sales were from IMAX screens. Avatar's all-time global gross now stands at $2,877,897,339, making it the highest-grossing movie ever, ahead of Avengers: Endgame at $2,797,501,328.

That Avatar's still able to bring people to cinemas – despite having been available on home release for well over a decade – bodes well for the sequel, Avatar: The Way Of Water. The follow-up reaches cinemas this December and promises to be another technological feat. Cameron's back in the director's seat, and will also helm a multitude of other sequels. In fact, Avatar 4 recently went into production.

Meanwhile, Olivia Wilde's dystopian drama beat Avatar in North America with a $19 million weekend, proving that the real-life controversies around the movie only whetted appetites to see Florence Pugh and Harry Styles on screen.

Whether Don't Worry Darling can remain at the top of the North American box office remains unclear: word of mouth has been mixed, the movie landing a 38% score on the aggregate site Rotton Tomatoes and a B- Cinemascore. Much of the ongoing discussion surrounds the twist – if you've seen the movie, then check out our explainer on the Don't Worry Darling ending. 

Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.