Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame encore reclaimed the top box office spot with a projected $26 million weekend, beating new releases from Sony, A24, Paramount, and DreamWorks.
Industry estimates put the re-release at $11.2 million on Friday across 3,060 locations, enough to lead a crowded frame packed with fresh titles. The Wrap reported the encore is pacing toward roughly $26 million for the full weekend.
The return is not a simple nostalgia play. The version now in theaters carries a modified ending and new post-credit scenes meant to tee up Avengers: Doomsday. Fans answered anyway.
Endgame’s domestic haul now sits at about $884 million. That puts the film within $100 million of Avatar’s all-time global box office mark, a reminder that the biggest Marvel event movie still moves tickets years later.
Sony and TriStar’s Resident Evil landed at No. 2 with $23.8 million in its second weekend. That is a 60% drop from its $60 million opening, a normal slide for a horror hit that opened huge.
The film is on pace to clear $100 million domestic and $200 million worldwide this weekend. Early heat around the project, including strong reception tied to Zach Cregger’s horror work, helped it keep momentum after a big debut.
Horror kept its footing. Several higher-budget openers did not.
A24’s Primetime posted an $8.5 million opening day and is headed for a $20.5 million weekend from 2,874 locations. Robert Pattinson stars as a dramatized version of To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, the NBC figure whose mid-2000s series rose and fell in the public eye.
Critics landed at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences at 82%. CinemaScore came in at a B. The reported production budget is $15 million, the lowest among the new releases in the frame, which makes the early gross look efficient even before a longer run.
Pattinson’s turn has drawn Oscar chatter. Hansen has called the portrayal fictional. The movie still found a crowd on opening weekend.
Paramount’s Heart of the Beast took in $7.4 million on opening day from 3,435 locations and is tracking toward a $20 million start. Pitt plays a Special Forces veteran stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with his combat dog.
Reception was warmer with paying customers than with some debuts this weekend. CinemaScore hit A-. Rotten Tomatoes showed 87% from critics and 95% from audiences. The budget is listed at $80 million, so the film will need legs through October to push toward theatrical profit.
Star power and solid scores helped. The opening still trails the re-release that beat it to first place.
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island managed $4.3 million on Friday from 3,548 locations and is pointed at an $11.5 million opening. That is a rough start for an $80 million animated title.
The reviews were not the problem. Rotten Tomatoes critics sat at 94%. CinemaScore was an A. PostTrak showed 82% “definite recommend” and 96% overall positive. Family and animated competition in October is thin beyond the more adult-skewing PG-13 Laika title Wildwood, and the film is rolling out overseas on a staggered schedule.
DreamWorks has been here before. Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken opened to just $5.5 million in 2023, cited as the studio’s all-time low. By contrast, The Wild Robot opened to $35.7 million domestic in September 2024 and built a long multiple after that. Forgotten Island’s early pace leaves a steep climb if it hopes to look like the latter rather than the former.
Endgame’s encore led because people still show up for a known event film with new connective tissue to the next saga chapter. Resident Evil held because horror audiences keep buying tickets after a strong open. Primetime worked the math of a lean budget and a star turn. Heart of the Beast and Forgotten Island, both carrying $80 million price tags, face harder paths from softer starts, one with warm audience marks, one with glowing reviews that have not yet turned into a big opening.
Friday figures and weekend projections are industry estimates, not final studio reports. Chart positions can shift when actuals land. The shape of the weekend is already clear enough: a six-year-old Marvel tentpole, refreshed for the next chapter, beat a slate of new movies on pure turnout.
Hollywood can greenlight whatever it wants. Opening weekend still belongs to the audience.
