When Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame surpassed James Cameron‘s Avatar as the highest grossing film ever released (unadjusted for inflation), Cameron sent a congratulatory public note to Marvel and Kevin Feige, continuing a tradition of filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg sending similar messages to each other through the trades when one of their films would beat the other’s to take the top spot. But it sounds like Cameron eventually expects to receive one in return, because he thinks it’s “a certainty” that Avatar will overtake Endgame at the global box office.

Ultimately, Cameron Thinks Avatar Will Beat Avengers: Endgame

Cameron spoke with USA Today (via Indiewire) about Avatar‘s tenth anniversary, which happened earlier this week, and he expressed his thoughts about whether his 2009 original movie will reclaim the box office crown from Avengers: Endgame if a re-release were to hit theaters in the lead-up to his Avatar sequels:

“I think it’s a certainty. But let’s give ‘Endgame’ their moment and let’s celebrate that people are going to the movie theater.”

But evidently, Cameron couldn’t give Endgame that moment without getting a little dig in there also. While he said he “really enjoyed” the Russo Brothers’ conclusion to the Infinity Saga, he also pointed out that Endgame really didn’t beat his movie by all that much:

“I don’t want to sound snarky after I took the high road [by offering congratulations]. But they beat us by one quarter of a percent. I did the math in my head while driving in this morning. I think accountants call that a rounding error.”

Disney had to re-release Avengers: Endgame in theaters in order to claim this record, and while a theatrical re-release of Avatar has not been officially announced leading up to the sequels, it seems inevitable that the studio will capitalize on an easy opportunity to make more money. While some egos at Disney may be hurt by letting a former Fox-owned property take back the crown, the money is ultimately going in Disney’s coffers, so I think it’s incredibly likely that we’ll see Avatar come back to theaters. Cameron explains that the idea is “under discussion,” and producer Jon Landau says that if it does happen, it’ll only be to promote the new movies:

“If (a rerelease) can service the release of the sequels, then great. Our focus is on the sequels. It’s not about looking back, not trying to overtake.”

Avatar 2 is slated to hit theaters on December 17, 2021.