Disney and Marvel Studios’ Avengers Endgame: Encore box office opening is headed for No. 1 domestically, with the re-release eyeing $24 million to $26 million from 3,060 theaters over its opening weekend of September 25 to 27. The three-hour Russo Brothers film earned an estimated $11.2 million on Friday, September 25, including Thursday previews.
The start leads a crowded frame. Every title in release is expected to total around $123 million for the weekend, which would make it the second-best late September weekend ever behind 2015’s $137.8 million, when Hotel Transylvania 2 opened.
Previews Beat Revenge Of The Sith
Encore opened with $3.8 million from Thursday previews, up from the $3 million-plus early preview figure reported ahead of Friday. That total tops the $3.4 million in previews Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith posted for its re-release in 2025, a run that turned into a $25.4 million opening.
The re-release record is still out of reach. The 1997 re-release of Star Wars holds the best opening ever for a re-release in the United States, at $35.9 million.
Premium Screens Drive The Weekend
Premium formats are doing most of the work. Combined IMAX and premium large format screens, including Disney and Marvel’s new Infinity Vision certification, account for 63 percent of the weekend take. Encore is booked on around 1,300 Infinity Vision screens plus 390 IMAX locations.
The re-release carries 6 minutes and 17 seconds of added footage on IMAX and Infinity Vision screens, and 2 minutes and 6 seconds on standard screens, setting up Avengers: Doomsday, the Russo Brothers’ next Avengers film. Audiences are responding, with a 91 percent positive score and an 81 percent definite recommend in PostTrak exit polling.
What The Weekend Means For Endgame’s Totals
On the high end of the projection, Avengers: Endgame’s lifetime domestic total would climb to $884.3 million after the weekend. That will not be enough to catch the all-time domestic leader, Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is expected to sit around $950 million by Sunday, September 27.
The worldwide picture is the bigger question. Encore’s overseas outlook is $25 million, for a global weekend of roughly $50 million. James Cameron’s Avatar remains the highest grossing film of all time at $2.92 billion worldwide. Avengers: Endgame is No. 2 at $2.799 billion, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day third at $2.5 billion. The gap between Avatar and Endgame stands at $124 million, and Disney is in wait-and-see mode on whether Endgame can reclaim the top spot before Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18. Encore has no set end date for its theatrical run.
The Rest Of The Top Five
Resident Evil is projected for second place in its second weekend with $23.5 million, down 61 percent, for a ten-day total of $103.6 million. Paramount’s Brad Pitt survival film The Heart of the Beast is eyeing a $20 million start in third, while A24’s Robert Pattinson film Primetime has a shot at $20 million. DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island rounds out the top five with $11.5 million.
Avengers Endgame: Encore is playing in theaters now, and Avengers: Doomsday follows on December 18.
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