Avengers vs. Star Wars: ‘Endgame Encore’ Wins Friday, but ‘Revenge of the Sith’ Leads the Battle

It’s been 7 years since Marvel’s biggest team-up first hit theaters, yet the franchise has once again found itself in a box office race. The ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ box office run has turned into a head-to-head battle with a very different sci-fi giant, as the reissue measures itself against last year’s return of ‘Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’.

The Encore brings back the 2019 blockbuster with a modified ending and new post-credit scenes designed to set up ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which arrives on December 18. Ahead of release, analyst Daniel Garris predicted it could open a bit higher than ‘Revenge of the Sith’, pointing to the hype around ‘Doomsday’ and the many premium large-format showtimes.

Now the Friday numbers are in, and they paint an intriguing picture. According to figures shared by box office analyst Luiz Fernando, ‘Endgame Encore’ grossed $11.2 million on its reopening day across 3,060 North American locations, including $3.8 million from Thursday previews.

That was enough to take the top spot for the day, but it landed just below the $11.4 million opening day for ‘Revenge of the Sith’. Fernando noted that ‘Endgame’ actually posted higher previews than the ‘Star Wars’ reissue, which makes its overall Friday performance more front-loaded by comparison.

Based on the Friday results, Fernando is projecting a 3-day opening weekend between $22 million and $25 million. That would place it between the $25.5 million debut of ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and the $22.5 million opening of ‘The Phantom Menace’ 3D re-release in 2012.

The battle between #Avengers  & #StarWars keeps tight at US #BoxOffice, as #AvengersEndgameEncore  reissue grossed STRONG 11.2M on FRI Re-Opening Day, including 3.8M THU Previews, but more frontloaded than SW, below #RevengeOfTheSith’s 11.4M Opening Day, despite #Endgame having had higher previews. Eyeing a 22M-25M 3-day opening weekend, what would be somewhere in between 2025 rerelease of #RevengeOfTheSith’s 25.5M and 2012 3D re-release of #ThePhantomMenace’s 22.5M, joining the ALL TIME TOP5 biggest re-openings for a reissue, joining #TheLionKing’s 30.2M 3D re-release back in 2011 & #ANewHope’s 35.9M back in 1997, beating even #Titanic 15th anniversary 3D re-release’s 17.3M back in 2012, or #Avatar’s 10.5M back in 2022.

— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) September 26, 2026

In his breakdown, that performance would put ‘Endgame Encore’ in the all-time top 5 re-release openings. It would join ‘The Lion King’ 3D re-release, which opened to $30.2 million in 2011, and the 1997 return of ‘A New Hope’, which debuted with $35.9 million.

Fernando also noted that the Encore would outpace the $17.3 million 3D re-release of ‘Titanic’ for its 15th anniversary, as well as the $10.5 million re-release of ‘Avatar’ in 2022. Other industry estimates are slightly more optimistic, with Variety and The Hollywood Reporter pointing to a weekend of around $26 million.

The Marvel reissue is facing plenty of competition. A24’s ‘Primetime’ took second place on Friday with $8.49 million from 2,874 locations, with rival estimates putting its weekend at about $20.5 million.

Reassemble the team & relive the experience as Avengers Endgame: Encore returns to theaters September 25.

Tickets now available for IMAX and Infinity Vision screens: https://t.co/pZZ4PiOyQb pic.twitter.com/2wKSVG4FLz

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) August 25, 2026

Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’, which opened to a franchise-record $61 million last weekend, was expected to add another $24 million to $26 million in its second frame. Meanwhile, TheWrap reported that new releases like Paramount’s ‘Heart of the Beast’ and Universal and DreamWorks’ ‘Forgotten Island’ face uncertain futures despite strong reception.

Beyond the weekend rankings, the Encore is pushing ‘Endgame’ toward a much bigger milestone. Deadline’s projections suggest the film’s lifetime domestic total could climb as high as $884.3 million by Sunday.

According to TheWrap, that would bring the Marvel epic within $100 million of the all-time global box office record held by ‘Avatar’. With strong international numbers also rolling in, the race for the top of the worldwide chart is far from over.

Joe Russo has described the new footage as required viewing for anyone following the story into ‘Doomsday’. If that message keeps bringing fans back, ‘Endgame’ could have more fuel left than its front-loaded Friday suggests.

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