‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Is About To Do Something No Marvel Movie Has Done in Years

Box office comebacks rarely happen the way this one is unfolding. A film that already earned nearly $2.8 billion during its original theatrical run isn’t supposed to be competitive for a weekend box office crown seven years later, yet that’s exactly the situation Marvel finds itself in heading into this weekend.

What started as a nostalgic victory lap ahead of December’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘ has steadily transformed into something far more competitive than anyone initially expected. Industry trackers have watched the numbers climb week after week, and the picture heading into release weekend looks genuinely unusual for a seven-year-old rerelease.

‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ is now tracking to earn between $25 million and $28 million in its domestic opening weekend, putting it in a strong position to claim the number one spot at the box office this weekend, according to industry tracking figures.

That projection sets up a legitimately close race against Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil,’ which is targeting $24 million to $26 million in its sophomore weekend after topping last weekend’s chart with a franchise-record $61 million debut. With both films landing in nearly overlapping ranges, this weekend’s top spot could come down to razor-thin margins between a beloved rerelease and a genuine horror success story.

Earlier tracking had shown even more optimism, with some pre-sales data suggesting the film could reach as high as $40 million to $50 million based on strong North American advance ticket momentum. Other forecasts landed more conservatively, with one published prediction pegging the opening closer to $19.6 million, reflecting the genuinely wide range analysts have assigned to a release this unusual.

‘AVENGERS ENDGAME: ENCORE’ is on track to earn $25M-$28M in its domestic opening weekend. Taking the #1 spot this weekend. https://t.co/dalGa6w29g

— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) September 23, 2026

Part of what makes this weekend so significant is the record sitting within reach. Should ‘Endgame Encore’ land near the top end of its projected range, it stands a real chance of overtaking ‘Titanic 3D’s’ $25.6 million opening weekend from 2012, which has stood as the modern benchmark for the biggest domestic opening ever for a theatrical rerelease.

The all-time overall rerelease record still belongs to the 1997 Special Edition of the original ‘Star Wars,’ which pulled in roughly $138 million across its full run, a mark that remains far out of reach for a single opening weekend. Still, surpassing ‘Titanic 3D’ alone would mark a genuinely historic achievement for a film originally released back in 2019.

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

The rerelease carries a few extra minutes of footage directly connecting to ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ the Russo brothers’ upcoming ensemble film hitting theaters in December. That strategic tie-in appears to be a significant driver behind the strong ticket sales, transforming what could have been a simple nostalgia play into a genuine marketing bridge between two major Marvel releases.

‘Avengers: Endgame’ currently sits as the second-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, trailing only ‘Avatar’ by a shrinking margin. Some industry watchers have even speculated that a sufficiently strong international and domestic rerelease run could help close that roughly $124 million gap, though reclaiming the all-time global crown would require sustained performance well beyond just this opening weekend alone.

Between the record chase, the tight race against ‘Resident Evil,’ and the film’s connective tissue to December’s biggest Marvel release yet, this weekend has become a genuinely compelling box office story in its own right rather than a simple victory lap for a beloved blockbuster. Final numbers won’t be clear until after the weekend wraps, but the setup alone has already made ‘Endgame Encore’ one of the more unexpectedly competitive theatrical stories of the fall.

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