A seven-year-old Marvel title just beat every new release in North America, and the domestic box office is closing in on a milestone it did not reach until December last year.
The re-release effect
Disney and Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame Encore” brought in $26 million from 3,060 theatres. The reissue, which includes extra footage, added $60 million overseas for an $86 million global weekend.
That scale matters because re-releases rarely clear $10 million domestically. David A. Gross, who publishes the FranchiseRe box office newsletter, called the move “an effective way to build early word-of-mouth” ahead of December’s Avengers: Doomsday.
A24 and Pattinson deliver
A24’s “Primetime” opened to $19.2 million from 2,863 venues, the studio’s third-best debut behind Backrooms ($81.4M) and Civil War ($25.5M). The film cost $15 million to produce, so it is already positioned to turn a theatrical profit.
Gen Z drove the turnout: 69% of the audience was under 30. Moviegoers gave it a B CinemaScore, while the real Chris Hansen called the film “so bizarre” and “detached from reality.”
Big budgets, soft openings
Paramount’s “The Heart of the Beast” landed at No. 3 with $20 million from 3,435 venues, but it carries an $82 million budget. Its global start was $50.1 million, helped by $30.1 million from overseas markets.
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island” took fifth place with $12.8 million from 4,548 venues. It has $20.6 million globally against an $80 million budget.
Both films have strong audience scores — The Heart of the Beast earned an A- CinemaScore and Forgotten Island earned an A — so the question is legs, not appeal. Universal’s domestic distribution chief Jim Orr said he hopes the reactions “portend a long domestic run.”
What the numbers mean
- The Endgame re-release is really a marketing campaign for Avengers: Doomsday, converting nostalgia into early word-of-mouth.
- Primetime proves a mid-budget original can work theatrically when a star and a clear concept are attached.
- Two $80 million-budget originals will need long runs and international strength to justify their costs.
Sony’s “Resident Evil” held second place with $23 million in its second weekend, a 60% drop. It has earned $103.4 million domestically and $196.5 million globally against a $75 million budget.
Universal can absorb a soft start. The studio recently became the first to cross $5 billion worldwide in 2026, powered by Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey ($1.75B) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($1B).
The domestic box office now stands at $7.8 billion, nearing $8 billion. With Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part III ahead, 2026 is positioned to be the strongest theatrical year since the pandemic.
Source: Variety
