“Avengers: Endgame Encore” earned an estimated $86 million worldwide in its opening weekend, which leaves the 2019 film about $38.3 million short of “Avatar” as the highest- grossing movie of all time. Disney’s re-release also finished first at the domestic box office with $26.1 million.
Avengers Endgame Encore box office: the weekend numbers
The final domestic figure for Sept. 25-27 was $26,106,643, according to The Numbers, which put the total for all 62 reporting films at $123.5 million. That means the re-release took about 21% of every ticket dollar spent in North America that weekend. The film’s domestic total now stands at $884.5 million, which is the $858.4 million it had earned before plus the new weekend.
Overseas, the film added about $60 million, according to Infobae, which put the worldwide weekend at $86 million. About 70% of the money came from outside North America. Slashfilm had estimated before the weekend that the original release drew about 69% of its money overseas, so the re-release tracked the same split almost exactly. The studio opened the film in 3,060 locations, TheWrap reported. The Thursday night previews brought in $3.8 million, according to Aceshowbiz.
How far Endgame is from the Avatar record
Before the re-release, “Endgame” stood at $2,799.4 million worldwide and “Avatar” at $2,923.7 million, a gap of $124.3 million, ComingSoon reported. Adding the $86 million weekend puts “Endgame” at about $2,885.4 million and the gap at $38.3 million. Infobae gave the same $38.3 million figure.
Other outlets rounded differently. Bleeding Cool reported the film at $2.8 billion worldwide and $36 million behind “Avatar,” while JoBlo put the total at $2.88 billion. One weekend covered about 69% of the original gap, because $86 million is 69.2% of $124.3 million.
The remaining $38.3 million equals about 45% of what the re-release made in three days. A second weekend that kept about 45% of the first would close the gap on its own, and any later weeks would add to it. Disney has not said how long it plans to keep the film in theaters.
Why Disney added four scenes before Avengers Doomsday
The “Encore” edition is not a straight re-release. It includes four new scenes tied to “Avengers: Doomsday,” which opens Dec. 18, according to Infobae. The directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, have called the original film required viewing before the sequel, Slashfilm reported.
Aceshowbiz reported that “Doomsday” had passed $50 million in advance ticket sales more than 100 days before its release. That makes the re-release a marketing tool as well as a revenue source. Every fan who sees the new footage in a theater has a reason to return in December.
The Marvel franchise already has momentum this year: ComingSoon reported that Sony’s “Spider- Man: Brand New Day” holds 2026’s top worldwide gross at $2.47 billion and the biggest domestic debut at $360 million.
Analyst David A. Gross told Infobae that re-releases rarely earn more than $10 million in a typical case, which makes a $26 million domestic weekend unusual for the category.
Outlets described the opening in different terms. Aceshowbiz reported before the weekend that the film could break the re-release record of $25.6 million set by “Titanic 3D” in 2012. Infobae, after the weekend, ranked it third among re-release openings in North America, behind “The Lion King” at $30.1 million in 2011 and the original “Star Wars” at $35.9 million in 1997. NBC Palm Springs reported that Disney called the $86 million global debut the second-highest ever for a re-release.
Resident Evil, Primetime and the rest of the top five
The weekend nearly produced four films above $20 million, something JoBlo said had not happened since 2022. Three of them got there. Sony’s “Resident Evil,” directed by Zach Cregger, took second place with $23.0 million, according to The Numbers, for a domestic total of $103.2 million.
TheWrap reported that its second weekend fell about 60% from a $60 million opening. JoBlo put the drop at 61%. Cregger’s previous film, “Weapons,” earned $151.5 million domestically, per JoBlo.
Paramount’s “Heart of the Beast,” a survival story starring Brad Pitt, opened to $20.0 million, The Numbers reported, on a budget TheWrap listed at $80 million. The film also earned $30.1 million internationally, according to JoBlo. It earned an A- CinemaScore, TheWrap reported. That works out to about 25% of its budget recovered at the domestic box office in three days. A24’s “Primetime,” in which Robert Pattinson plays “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen, finished fourth.
Studio estimates on Sunday had it above $20 million. TheWrap reported $20.5 million from 2,874 locations. The final figure was $19,197,764, which missed the $20 million mark. TheWrap listed the budget at $15 million, so the film has already earned back more than its cost domestically.
Universal and DreamWorks’ animated “Forgotten Island” opened to $13.0 million in the final count, up from the $11.5 million TheWrap reported in early estimates. TheWrap listed its budget at $80 million.
Weather and the next weekend
Outlets disagree on how the weather affected attendance. Bleeding Cool reported that storm damage in the Northeast hurt the weekend.
Showbiz411 described the weather as favorable for the re-releases and new releases.
Two wide releases arrive Friday. Bleeding Cool projected the Colleen Hoover adaptation “Verity” at about $52 million and Tom Cruise’s “Digger” at about $27 million. More recent forecasts are lower. Analyst Shawn Robbins expects “Verity” to earn $24 million to $34 million and “Digger” $7.5 million to $12.5 million, according to his Box Office Theory forecast.
If either film opens below the projections, “Endgame Encore” has a fair chance of staying in the top three while it works toward the Avatar record.
