“Avengers: Endgame Encore” reclaimed the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office this weekend, pulling in an estimated $26 million from 3,060 North American theaters as Disney’s rerelease of the 2019 blockbuster outperformed a stacked slate of new competitors. The re-release added $60 million overseas for an $86 million global total, ranking as the second-highest-grossing rerelease weekend ever, trailing only 2012’s “Titanic 3D.” The film arrives ahead of “Avengers: Doomsday,” due in theaters December 18, and includes bonus footage from the upcoming sequel meant to build anticipation.
Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” reboot held steady in second place with $23.3 million in its second weekend, pushing its two-week domestic haul to $103.5 million. Paramount’s “Heart of the Beast,” starring Brad Pitt as a veteran trekking through the Alaskan wilderness with his dog after a plane crash, edged out A24’s “Primetime” for third place with roughly $20 million.
Still, “Primetime” delivered one of the stronger debuts of the fall, opening to $19.2 million from 2,863 locations. That figure marks the third-best opening in A24’s history, trailing only this summer’s “Backrooms” and 2024’s “Civil War,” and ahead of last year’s “Marty Supreme.” Robert Pattinson stars as disgraced television journalist Chris Hansen in the film, directed by Lance Oppenheim, with Skyler Gisondo, Merritt Wever and Phoebe Bridgers rounding out the cast. Audiences skewed young, with 69 percent of ticket buyers under 30, though the film’s unsettling subject matter contributed to a mixed “B” CinemaScore.
Hansen himself has publicly pushed back on his portrayal since watching the finished film, describing it as “so bizarre” and “detached from reality.” Analysts pointed to the overall strength of the weekend rather than any single release, with combined grosses tracking toward the best late-September performance in years. Box office newsletter publisher David Gross noted that rereleases rarely clear $10 million, calling Disney’s outsized result an effective way to generate early buzz for “Doomsday” months before its release.
