411 Box Office Report: Avengers Endgame: Encore Takes Top Spot In Crowded Weekend

The box office rewound back to 2019 this weekend as Avengers Endgame returned and laid claim to the #1 spot. Disney’s MCU re-release, dubbed Avengers Endgame: Encore, brought in $26 million for the #1 position. That is the third-best re-release weekend of all time, behind only the special edition bow of Star Wars ($35.9 million in 1997) and The Lion King ($29.2 million in 2011).

The re-release is part of Disney’s promotional strategy for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and includes additional footage intended to bridge the two films. This was the primary hook to bring fans out, similar to the aforementioned Star Wars rerelease containing the “Special Edition” footage. Of course, it was also just a chance to see the blockbuster back on the big screen, which didn’t hurt.

The film added $60 million overseas for an $86 million worldwide weekend. That brings its all-time totals to $884.4 million domestically and $2.885 billion worldwide, the latter just $35 million behind the all-time champion of Avatar at $2.92 billion. There’s no word on how long Avengers Endgame: Encore will remain in theaters but becoming the #1 grosser worldwide again is certainly not outside the realm of possibility, and of course this is just additional money for the studio from the original numbers.

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil did fine in its second weekend, as it dropped an expected 61% for a $23.3 million take. That hold is the second best for a Resident Evil film, behind only Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City which fell 50% only because it started very low.

Resident Evil is already a success for Sony Pictures, sitting at $103.5 million domestically and $196.5 million worldwide against a $75 million budget. It is by far the highest grossing film in the franchise domestically, though it has a ways to go to top the worldwide franchise record of $314.1 million set by Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in 2016. It is likely to beat out that number though and is on course for a domestic final of $150 million, perhaps more if it stabilizes heading into October.

A trio of new releases came in next, with Heart of the Beast taking the #3 spot. The Brad Pitt-led survival thriller opened a bit higher than expected with $20 million. That is well below the opening of Pitt’s last film, F1, but no one expected this film to do anywhere near the same numbers as that one.

Heart of the Beast comes from Paramount Pictures and was marketed largely on Pitt’s name, as well as his military character’s connection with the dog in the film. That was enough to get people to come out and see the film at a higher level than Channing Tatum’s 2022 drama Dog, which opened to $14.9 million. The survival thriller aspects helped as well, as did the positive buzz. Heart of the Beast earned a great 87% aggregate among critics on Rotten Tomatoes while the audience rating was a 91% and the CinemaScore was an A-. That lead to good word of mouth that will help the film.

And to be fair, the film will need help. The production costs were reportedly $82 million, though Paramount have to be pleased that it had a strong overseas start at $30.1 million for a $50.1 million worldwide opening. It doesn’t seem sure by any stretch that this one will reach profit in theaters, but decent legs could propel it to as high as $75 million in the US and if the domestic totals remain strong, it will still be good enough to at least make profit once it hits home viewing.

Primetime took the #4 spot, opening to a strong $19.2 million. A24’s Robert Pattinson-led drama outperformed expectations that had it in the mid-teens. That’s thanks in large part to the buzz around the film, which dramatizes Chris Hanson’s To Catch a Predator run.

Primetime got very buzzy on social media thanks to savvy marketing around A24, which focused on Pattinson’s performance as Hanson and the moral questions around nature of the show. Critics are fans of the film with an 87% RT critic score and fans like well enough too with an 81% RT audience score and a B CinemaScore. If those fan scores are lower than you might expect, consider the emotionally-loaded perception of the show, its subjects, and Hanson as a person and it makes more sense.

Primetime has not yet begun reporting overseas numbers and won’t bring in a lot on that front. Dramas focusing on distinctly American subjects tend to do less well overseas. But Paramount is looking at profit here, as they paid just $15 million for the film’s production. The movie should make it as high as $60 million in the US, which would be more than enough for profit.

The news was less good for Forgotten Island. The Universal-produced animated film opened to $12.8 million, less than the high teens number that was expected. The adventure film simply found itself crowded out in a weekend where too many higher-profile films were available.

Forgotten Island was a pricey film for the studio, with an $80 million budget. While that’s about the same as Heart of the Beast, the overseas numbers make all the difference here as it took in just $7.8 million for a $20.6 million worldwide start.

There is good news here in that critics liked it (95% on RT) as did audiences (96% RT audience rating, A CinemaScore). But it still seems unlikely that the film will be anywhere near profitable in theaters. Even if it has exceptional legs and gets to $55 million to $60 million in the US, it would need those overseas numbers to be far better to make it into the black. The more likely domestic final will be somewhere around $35 million to $40 million.

Practical Magic 2 was off 53% in its third weekend, tallying $5.7 million. The witchy drama is now at $59.8 million in the US and $89.6 million worldwide against its $75 million budget. It won’t be profitable, but digital revenue should help and its final domestic goal is probably about $70 million.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was down 36% in its ninth weekend, grossing $4.1 million. The all-time domestic box office champ now has $950.9 million domestic and $2.496 billion worldwide, and will finish off north of $960 million. The budget was $225 million.

The Odyssey slipped a mere 25% in its 11th weekend with $3.7 million. Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster has now grossed $616.5 million in the US and $1.751 billion worldwide. It should top Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi’s $620.2 million to become the #16 domestic grosser ever and is of course a massive hit against a $250 million production budget.

Coyote vs. Acme brought in $1.9 million in its fifth weekend, a drop of 57%. The Looney Tunes film has now reached $58.4 million domestically and $88 million globally.

It should be noted that Ketchup Entertainment says it has topped $100 million, but the officially reported numbers don’t reflect that. It may well be a difference between foreign grosses reported what they know, but they have not provided specific figures so we’re sticking with what is known here. Either way, the film is looking like it will prove profitable for Ketchup based on their $50 million pick up cost, and will close in the US at around $62 million.

EKKL Entertainment’s Biblical drama Daniel and the Fiery Furnace spent a last week in the top 10 with $1.5 million, down 54% from its opening weekend. The movie is now at $6.2 million and is profitable against a $2 million budget.

Next weekend will see a new #1 as Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway battle for dominance. Cruise’s black comedy Digger and Hathaway’s psychological thriller Verity are both looking at around $20 million.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Avengers: Endgame – $26 million ($884.4 million total, $2.885 billion WW)
2. Resident Evil – $23.3 million ($103.5 million total, $196.5 million WW)
3. Heart Of the Beast – $20 million ($20 million total, $50.1 million WW)
4. Primetime – $19.2 million ($19.2 million total, $19.2 million WW)
5. Forgotten Island – $12.8 million ($12.8 million total, $20.6 million WW)
6. Practical Magic 2 – $5.7 million ($59.8 million total, $89.6 million WW)
7. Spider-Man: Brand New Day – $4.1 million ($950.7 million total, $2.496 billion WW)
8. The Odyssey – $3.7 million ($616.5 million total, $1.751 billion WW)
9. Coyote vs. Acme – $1.9 million ($54.8 million total, $88 million WW)
10. Daniel and the Fiery Furnace – $1.5 million ($3.1 million total, $3.1 million WW)