Disney and Marvel’s Avengers Endgame: Encore stormed the worldwide box office with an $86 million opening, delivering an exceptional result for a theatrical re-release.
The return engagement collected $26 million in the domestic market and $60 million overseas. Its stateside performance ranks as the third-biggest re-release debut, behind the 1997 reissue of Star Wars, which opened to $35.9 million, and 2011’s The Lion King 3D, which started with $30.2 million.
Internationally, Encore scored the second-highest foreign opening for a re-release at current rates. It trails only Titanic 3D, which earned $67 million in 2012 with a boost from China.
Andrew Cripps, Disney’s global boss of distribution, celebrated the performance, saying, “The success of the re-release reiterates that there’s a massive fanbase for this franchise, and the fact that it’s a 7-year-old movie on Disney+, it’s an incredible opening.”
Imax contributed $13.7 million, close to 14% of the worldwide total. That included $4 million domestically and $9.7 million from international markets.
A box-office boost before ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
The re-release includes a handful of minutes of additional footage from Anthony and Joe Russo’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, allowing Encore to double as a theatrical showcase for the next film.
The new revenue pushed the lifetime global total for Avengers: Endgame to $2.885 billion. It remains behind Avatar at $2.92 billion and ahead of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has an updated worldwide tally of $2.495 billion. Across 38 titles, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now generated $35 billion globally.
Endgame returned at No. 1 in China with $13.5 million, followed by the United Kingdom with $5.4 million, Mexico with $4.2 million, Italy with $2.6 million, Brazil with $2.2 million and Germany with $2 million. It also led in Australia and ranked as the top non-local release in Japan, where it made $2.6 million, and Spain, where it earned $1.7 million.
Disney estimates that Encore delivered the biggest opening weekend ever for an MPA re-release in markets including the UK, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Greece, South Africa, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Ukraine, the UAE, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Taiwan. It also achieved the second-highest MPA-title opening in Italy, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Argentina.
In Korea, the Russo-directed film placed second during the Sept. 24-27 Chuseok holiday period. The Assassin took the top position as three local films occupied places in the market’s top five.
France was another exception to the film’s international dominance. Endgame earned $2.1 million there, while Paramount’s Brad Pitt vehicle Heart of the Beast, directed by David Ayer, led the market with $3.8 million.
‘Resident Evil’ and Brad Pitt battle for second
The worldwide race behind Encore was exceptionally close. Sony and Constantin’s Resident Evil delivered $50.3 million in its second frame, including $27 million from 65 overseas markets and more than 12,500 screens. Its international cumulative total across Sony and Constantin territories reached $93 million, while its worldwide haul climbed to $196.5 million.
The UK, Mexico and Australia each set franchise records by the end of the second weekend, reaching respective market totals of $11.5 million, $9 million and $5.4 million. The film next heads to China on Oct. 5 and Japan on Oct. 9.
Heart of the Beast was close behind with $50.1 million worldwide. Its $30.1 million international launch came from 63 markets. In addition to France, it opened at No. 1 in New Zealand, the UAE, Ukraine and Portugal. The Middle East contributed $2.6 million, including $1 million from 58 sites in the UAE.
A24’s Primetime reached $20.3 million worldwide, combining $19.1 million domestically with a limited $1.2 million international launch across France, Germany, Austria, India, Taiwan, the Baltics and Iceland. Some distribution sources believe the A- CinemaScore for Heart of the Beast could help it secure a strong domestic multiple, while Primetime, which received a B, may prove more front-loaded.
DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, from Universal, generated $18.4 million worldwide during its second international weekend and first North American frame. That total included $12.8 million domestically and $5.6 million from 34 overseas territories.
The Philippines led its international performance with a No. 1 opening of $1.5 million from 280 locations, marking Universal’s biggest opening of the year in that market, ahead of Odyssey. The animated film also opened at No. 1 in Israel with $300,000 and remained the top family release in Australia, where its cumulative total reached $1.8 million after two weekends.