{"id":784464,"date":"2026-09-27T17:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T17:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/784464\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T17:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T17:24:08","slug":"avengers-endgame-encore-leads-box-office-primetime-big-opening-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/784464\/","title":{"rendered":"Avengers: Endgame Encore Leads Box Office, Primetime Big Opening Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cAvengers: Endgame Encore<\/a>,\u201d a re-release of Disney and Marvel\u2019s 2019 blockbuster (with extra footage!), emerged victorious at the domestic box office over several new releases.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAvengers: Endgame Encore\u201d generated $26 million from 3,060 North American theaters over the weekend, a sizable haul for a movie that\u2019s been available to watch online for years. It was even bigger overseas with $60 million for a massive global tally of $86 million. Excitement for the re-release certainly bodes well for the studio\u2019s upcoming \u201cAvengers: Doomsday,\u201d which opens in December and brings back nearly all of Earth\u2019s Mightiest Heroes on another save-the-universe mission.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRe-releases rarely earn more than $10 million,\u201d says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. \u201cAs a marketing exercise, [this] is an effective way to build early word-of-mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong new releases, A24\u2019s \u201cPrimetime<\/a>\u201d enjoyed a sizable $19.2 million debut from 2,863 venues. This marks the third-best opening ever for A24, ranking behind this summer\u2019s juggernaut \u201cBackrooms\u201d ($81.4 million) and Alex Garland\u2019s 2024 dystopian \u201cCivil War\u201d ($25.5 million) and ahead of Josh Safdie and Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s 2025 frenetic sports drama \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d ($15.7 million). \u201cPrimetime,\u201d directed by Lance Oppenheim and starring Robert Pattinson as \u201cTo Catch a Predator\u201d host Chris Hansen, was produced for just $15 million, so it\u2019s already well-positioned to turn a theatrical profit.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is an outstanding opening for an original crime drama,\u201d Gross says. \u201cRobert Pattinson has built an impressive filmography. The actor is a bona fide star, and he\u2019s carrying this movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIndeed, \u201cPrimetime\u201d underscores the bankability of Pattinson, whose mighty year at the box office includes the indie hit \u201cThe Drama,\u201d Christopher Nolan\u2019s summer blockbuster \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d and Denis Villeneuve\u2019s upcoming \u201cDune: Part III.\u201d Gen Z fueled the turnout for \u201cPrimetime,\u201d with 69% of audiences under the age of 30. Moviegoers gave \u201cPrimetime\u201d a mixed \u201cB\u201d grade on CinemaScore, which isn\u2019t surprising given the unsettling nature of the film; it revolves around Hansen\u2019s efforts to confront child sexual predators in complex sting operations. Meanwhile, the real-life Hansen was less enthused. After he finally saw the movie, he called it \u201cso bizarre\u201d and \u201cdetached from reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis weekend\u2019s other newcomers, Paramount\u2019s Brad Pitt-led survival adventure \u201cThe Heart of the Beast<\/a>,\u201d Universal and DreamWorks Animation\u2019s family-friendly \u201cForgotten Island<\/a>,\u201d struggled in their opening weekends despite great reviews and will need to stick around to justify their budgets.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Heart of the Beast\u201d landed at No. 3 ahead of \u201cPrimetime\u201d with $20 million from 3,435 theaters. It\u2019s a decent start for an original movie that\u2019s catering to adults. However, it\u2019s disappointing for a movie carries a hefty $82 million price tag. Theater owners keep about 50% of ticket sales, so \u201cHeart of the Beast\u201d will rely on staying power and interest at the international box office to recoup in its theatrical run. It\u2019s already faring better overseas, with $30.1 million from 63 markets for a global start of $50.1 million. Reviews and word-of-mouth should help; the film scored an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and a strong \u201cA-\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls. David Ayer (\u201cThe Beekeeper\u201d) directed \u201cHeart of Beast,\u201d which stars Pitt as a retired veteran who navigates a brutal 58-mile trek to safety after he and his trusted combat dog survive a harrowing plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cForgotten Island\u201d stumbled in fifth place with $12.8 million from 4,548 venues. It\u2019s also struggling overseas, where it has earned $7.8 million from 34 markets. Globally, \u201cForgotten Island\u201d has earned a soft $20.6 million. The PG movie cost $80 million to produce, so Universal needs the family film to enjoy the box office longevity that benefited recent original animated efforts, such as DreamWorks Animation\u2019s \u201cThe Wild Robot\u201d and Sony\u2019s sports-centric \u201cGOAT,\u201d both of which parlayed positive sentiments into ticket sales in the months after their debuts. \u201cForgotten Island\u201d was embraced by critics and audiences, scoring an 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and \u201cA\u201d on CinemaScore. Directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the story revolves around two best friends who get stranded in a mystical world. H.E.R., Dave Franco and Jenny Slate lead the voice cast.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHopefully these audiences\u2019 reactions portend a long domestic run,\u201d says Universal\u2019s domestic distribution chief Jim Orr.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn any case, Universal has enjoyed a strong run at the box office and can afford a miss, should \u201cForgotten Island\u201d struggle to break out. The studio recently became the first to cross $5 billion worldwide in 2026, fueled by Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d with $1.75 billion and \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d with $1 billion.<\/p>\n

\n\tNone of the new releases were able to outpace \u201cResident Evil,\u201d which secured second place with $23 million from 3,684 locations in its second outing. Although that\u2019s a steep 60% drop from last weekend\u2019s leading $60 million debut, Sony\u2019s reboot of the \u201990s video game is already set up nicely in its theatrical run. The movie, directed by Zach Cregger of \u201cWeapons\u201d fame, has outperformed the entire domestic hauls of its franchise predecessors, having earned $103.4 million domestically and a mighty $196.5 million globally so far against a $75 million budget.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter an unexpectedly strong summer and a decent start to fall, the domestic box office stands at $7.8 billion and is on the verge of crossing $8 billion \u2014 a milestone the market didn\u2019t reach last year until December. With several big blockbusters on the horizon, including \u201cAvengers: Doomsday\u201d and \u201cDune 3,\u201d this will easily be the biggest year for movie theaters since the pandemic upended the box office.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis weekend is another reminder that moviegoers in 2026 are showing up for everything from classic blockbuster reissues to original horror, thrillers, action and specialty titles,\u201d says Rentrak\u2019s head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAvengers: Endgame Encore,\u201d a re-release of Disney and Marvel\u2019s 2019 blockbuster (with extra footage!), emerged victorious at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[248599,96,174465,214318,2839,206780,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-784464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-avengers-endgame-encore","tag-entertainment","tag-forgotten-island","tag-heart-of-the-beast","tag-movies","tag-primetime","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}