Avengers: Endgame retakes its box office crown – but comes in at No. 3 for top rereleases

Seven years after cementing its position as the second-highest-grossing movie in history, Avengers: Endgame has reclaimed the top spot at the box office, serving as both a victory lap for Marvel and a teaser for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

The theatrical re-release generated $26 million over the weekend domestically and a further $60 million in overseas territories, according to Sunday studio estimates. The 2019 feature, which originally accumulated $2.8 billion worldwide, was re-introduced to cinemas with new post-credits scenes alongside an introductory message of thanks from stars Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans.

Among re-releases, only the 1997 edition of Star Wars: A New Hope ($35.9 million) and the 2011 return of The Lion King ($30.2 million) have recorded higher domestic opening weekends than Endgame.

Although studios have increasingly turned to re-releases to bridge gaps in movie scheduling, The Walt Disney Co’s screening—promoted as Endgame: Encore—took first place during a particularly crowded frame at the cinema.

It held off three critically acclaimed debuts: A24’s Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson; Paramount Pictures’ Heart of the Beast, featuring Brad Pitt; and Universal Pictures’ Forgotten Island.

Second place instead went to Zach Cregger’s reboot of Resident Evil. Following a strong debut, the Sony Pictures video-game adaptation brought in $23.3 million in its second weekend, taking its two-week total in US and Canadian theatres to $103.5 million.

In a tight contest for third, Heart of the Beast just edged past Primetime with an estimated $20 million from 3,435 venues. Directed by David Ayer, the film features Pitt as a retired veteran navigating the Alaskan wilderness with his combat dog following a plane crash. It earned an additional $30.1 million in international markets.

Robert Pattinson drives ‘Primetime’ sales

But the opening for Primetime was more impressive. Heart of the Beast cost $82 million to produce, making its path to profitability challenging. Primetime, starring Pattinson as To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, was made with a modest budget of $15 million and it opened in 500 fewer theaters.

Yet Primetime, buoyed by strong reviews and buzz out of the Venice Film Festival, debuted with $19.2 million. For Pattinson, who also starred this year in A24’s The Drama and Universal’s The Odyssey, the strong performance showed the actor’s drawing power with Gen Z audiences.

Some 69% of ticket buyers for Primetime were under the age of 30. Gen Z has emerged as the most regular moviegoing demographic, fueling hits this year like Obsession and “Backrooms. Primetime is directed by 30-year-old documentarian Lance Oppenheim, who co-directed the much-anticipated Elizabeth Holmes documentary, “You Can See Everything,” due out next month.

Forgotten Island, from DreamWorks Animation, had a hard time standing out. The film, which cost $80 million to make, opened in fifth place with a disappointing $12.8 million domestically. In 31 overseas markets, Forgotten Island also didn’t make much of a dent, grossing $7.8 million internationally.

Universal will hope family audiences catch up to the movie that landed the weekend’s best CinemaScore (an “A”) and the best reviews (94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Forgotten Island, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, is about two friends who get stranded in a mystical world.

The confluence of releases added up to a historically good September weekend in theaters. According to Rentrak, ticket sales were up 58.5% from the same weekend last year. The domestic box office has massed $7.8 billion thus far, putting it 19% ahead of last year.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak: