Avengers: Endgame re-released in 3,060 theaters with Encore and topped the box office with $26 million. It has topped $884 million domestically in its lifetime total, still behind The Force Awakens ($936.6 million) and Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($950.68 million after a $4.1 million in its ninth weekend). If we do some math, it could have a shot at topping Star Wars 7 (provided it dances like The Lion King 3-D back in September 2011), but Spidey spun too many webs to slide past time-traveling shenanigans. The real fun will be overseas, as it passed $2.885 billion worldwide this weekend with its latest reissue, just $39 million behind Avatar.
Recall that in the summer of 2019, Endgame topped $2.799 billion, eclipsing Avatar to become the highest-grossing film for two years, before Pandora snatched the title back with a 2021 reissue in China. So, barring a collapse, Pandora will be knocked back to second place a second time. Does that mean Endgame and Avatar are destined to do this together, to quote a joker? The big question is whether Avengers 4 can clear $3 billion globally with this latest reissue, given that it’s a stark reminder of the wonderful place (and conclusion) the MCU was in seven years ago, before the wheels came spinning off in a chaotic fashion.
Anyway, the new footage, or lack thereof, doesn’t do much to satisfy this writer in setting up the events of Doomsday, which will release in December later this year. As mentioned above, the MCU was in a wholly satisfying abyss when Endgame dropped seven years ago, bringing amazing character contemplation, excellent drama, and a heart-in-your-mouth finale that will be hard for any blockbuster to eclipse for years to come (take that Jurassic World Dominion, Game of Thrones, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker!). And its more patient, focused route, unlike the constant adrenaline and bundling of arguably more characters than necessary in Infinity War (ouch, going to get some haters for this statement), made it a glamorous tale for our heroes to band together to do “whatever it takes” to fix the universe. But it still points to a clear sign that Disney is latching onto the “you loved this in the 2010s” nostalgia, and we couldn’t break out in the right manner post-Endgame. Thus, let’s see how it pans out in this latest re-release. Maybe the world will forgive if Doomsday is a “doomsday” of good sorts.
In other news, Resident Evil became the only RE film to top $100 million domestically in its second weekend, and it will be passing $200 million worldwide by tomorrow morning/afternoon. Zach Cregger’s take on this IP is almost synonymous with a FOMO event, as it has already sold more tickets than any of its predecessors, and folks are eager to come across a great zombie/monster film thanks to excellent direction and a hilariously committed performance by Austin Abrams.
For newcomers, Heart of the Beast opened with $20 million; the good news for the Brad Pitt/David Ayer-directed film is that it relies on a tried-and-true concept: star plus concept. The bad news is it cost over $80 million to make, and unless it legs out like a champ for the Halloween season, I’m afraid this will be a bust. Lance Oppenheim and Ajon Singh’s Primetime grossed $19.19 million in its debut, with a B from CinemaScore. A solid opening for A24 and a worthwhile performance from Robert Pattinson, and it’s doing business on par with Dwayne Johnson’s The Smashing Machine from last year. And Forgotten Island had a miserable opening by DreamWorks standards, with only $12.8 million; yeah, even legs by DWA standards won’t mean much in the long run.
Practical Magic 2 is sliding past $90 million worldwide by tonight, so this will be a box office disappointment. The summer juggernauts, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey, have passed $951 million and $617 million domestically, respectively. The former should be passing $2.5 billion globally by Tuesday, while the latter has passed $1.75 billion. And yes, Universal became the first studio to crack $5 billion worldwide at the box office this year, so Warner Brothers did **** up amidst one of their worst years in global box office history.
Next weekend sees the release of Digger, Verity, Beware Boiuna, Rolling Loud: The Movie, Nickels, and Atonement.
