Avengers: Endgame Encore Re-Release Tops Box Office With $26M as New Films Crowd Weekend

Seven years after its original release, 'Avengers: Endgame' is back at No. 1. Disney and Marvel Studios' 'Endgame Encore' — a re-release featuring a modified ending and new post-credit scenes teasing the upcoming 'Avengers: Doomsday' — is projected to earn $26 million over the weekend from 3,060 North American locations, topping a crowded field of new releases.

The film earned $11.2 million on Friday alone. That weekend total would push its lifetime domestic gross to $884 million, bringing it within $100 million of the all-time global box office record held by 'Avatar,' according to The Wrap.

In second place, Sony and TriStar's 'Resident Evil' reboot is holding with an estimated $23.8 million in its second weekend — a steep 60% drop from its $60 million opening, but enough to cross $100 million domestic and $200 million worldwide this weekend. The film is directed by Zach Cregger, according to The Wrap.

The fight for third is tight. A24's 'Primetime' is edging out Paramount's 'Heart of the Beast,' with industry estimates giving 'Primetime' a $20.5 million opening from 2,874 locations against 'Heart of the Beast's' projected $20 million from 3,435 locations.

'Primetime' stars Robert Pattinson as 'To Catch a Predator' host Chris Hansen in what The Wrap describes as a surrealist, dramatized take on the NBC show's rise and fall in the mid-2000s. Pattinson's performance has drawn Oscar buzz, and the film holds an 87% critics score and 82% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, along with a B on CinemaScore. Its more incisive angle on true crime television has reportedly turned off some viewers expecting a straightforward biopic. With a reported production budget of just $15 million, however, A24's film is well-positioned for profitability.

'Heart of the Beast' stars Brad Pitt as a Special Forces veteran stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with his combat dog. It earned stronger audience marks — an A- on CinemaScore and a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes — but its $80 million budget means it faces a harder road to theatrical profit over the course of October, according to The Wrap.

The weekend's most troubling result belongs to Universal and DreamWorks Animation's 'Forgotten Island,' which earned just $4.3 million on Friday from 3,548 locations and is now tracking toward an $11.5 million opening weekend. That would rank among the lowest openings in DreamWorks Animation history — just above the studio's all-time domestic low of $5.5 million for 'Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken' in 2023, according to The Wrap.

The collapse is particularly striking given the film's reception. 'Forgotten Island' holds a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, an A on CinemaScore, and PostTrak scores of 82% 'definite recommend' and 96% overall positive — among the strongest audience responses of any film this weekend. The disconnect between critical and audience enthusiasm and actual ticket sales underscores what The Wrap describes as the post-COVID struggles plaguing original theatrical animation.

For context, The Wrap notes that even applying the 4x domestic multiplier that DreamWorks' 'The Wild Robot' achieved after its $35.7 million opening in September 2024 would not be enough for 'Forgotten Island' to break even on its $80 million budget. The film will have a staggered overseas release and faces limited family competition in October, but the math remains daunting.

Overall, the weekend represents strong business for theaters broadly, with multiple films drawing audiences simultaneously. Final figures are expected Sunday.

Why it matters — The weekend shows that even a seven-year-old Marvel film can outperform new releases, while 'Forgotten Island's' near-record-low opening — despite exceptional reviews — signals deepening trouble for original animated films at the theatrical box office.

Reported by thewrap.com, hollywoodreporter.com, boxofficemojo.com, variety.com