After the overwhelming success of Endgame, it seemed as if Marvel was gearing up for its next phase, with new characters on the horizon and fresh stories being prepped for the Disney streaming service. However in June 2019, Marvel’s head honcho Kevin Feige made the surprising announcement that Endgame would be re-released in theaters.

While not technically an extended cut, it’s being given, as Feige put it, “a bit of a marketing push with a few new things at the end of the movie.” Why would Disney re-release this epic blockbuster again less than two months after its original release and just before Spider-Man: Far from Home hits theaters on July 2?

We can all think of a few reasons but the first on everyone’s mind is of course the money! In 2009, James Cameron’s Avatar seized the all-time worldwide box office crown and has held it ever since. Endgame seemed poised to take it with it’s staggering numbers.

It did set plenty of other records, becoming the fastest film to ever surpass $2 billion at the box office even eclipsing the entire box office revenue of its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, within just 11 days, but as it began getting pushed out of theaters by an onslaught of summer blockbusters, Endgame found itself just $45 million shy of beating Avatar (which seems like a lot, but considering its total gross, is merely a drop in the bucket).

Not content with letting his film finish second, it’s clear that Feige was in for the win, and re-releasing Endgame to its millions of devoted fans may have been just what would have pushed his Avengers film far enough to take the crown from James Cameron’s otherworldly odyssey.

Endgame has been setting itself apart from the pack since its release, breaking records  right, left and center. After its Thursday opening night, it broke records every single day and during that first weekend, firmly established itself and found a place in the annals of film history.

Fans will undoubtedly flock back to theaters to relive their favorite movie experience with an added twist. By the time 2019 comes to a close, it feels likely that Endgame will rank among the top movies even during a busy summer that includes Toy Story 4, the Lion King remake, Spider-Man, and even a few that aren’t from Disney.