‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Is About To Smash a Box Office Record That’s Stood for 14 Years

Theatrical re-releases have become an increasingly common tool for major studios looking to squeeze extra revenue out of beloved franchises, but few have generated the kind of sustained box office buzz that Marvel’s latest gambit has managed. What began as a modest plan to whet appetites ahead of “Avengers: Doomsday” has quietly turned into one of the most closely watched re-release campaigns in recent memory.

That momentum started building the moment tickets went on sale back in August, when the film shattered the century’s biggest first-day pre-sales record for any theatrical re-release within just a few hours, surpassing a mark previously held by “Titanic’s” 2012 3D re-release for fourteen years. The presale numbers alone signaled that “Endgame Encore” wasn’t simply riding nostalgia; it was generating genuine box office heat.

Now, with the re-release just days away from its September 25 debut, industry tracking suggests “Avengers: Endgame Encore” could pull off an even bigger feat: officially claiming the title of the biggest opening weekend of all time for a theatrical re-release.

Current projections from Global Box Office have the film pacing for a domestic haul between $22 million and $27 million through Sunday, positioning it to potentially edge past “Titanic 3D’s” $25.6 million opening weekend, a number that has stood as the modern re-release benchmark for over a decade.

It’s worth noting that the domestic record for any theatrical re-release overall still belongs to a much older release: the 1997 Special Edition of the original “Star Wars,” which pulled in roughly $138 million total during its run. “Titanic 3D’s” opening weekend record, by contrast, reflects the modern, big-format re-release era that “Endgame Encore” is now positioned to challenge directly, making the comparison a far more relevant benchmark for how theatrical re-releases perform under current market conditions.

Beating that “Titanic 3D” mark wouldn’t just be a symbolic win either. It would give Marvel bragging rights over one of the most successful re-release campaigns of the digital streaming era, at a time when studios have increasingly questioned whether audiences still show up for films they can easily stream at home.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME ENCORE may beat the TITANIC 3D release ($25.6M) next week to become the biggest opening weekend of all time for a re-release. It is now tracking to make $22M–$27M through Sunday domestically. https://t.co/gmUSgmykPV

— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) September 17, 2026

Part of what’s fueling the re-release’s momentum is the added incentive Marvel Studios built into the theatrical event itself. Beyond the opportunity to see the film on the big screen again, the “Encore” presentation includes additional footage and an exclusive first look at “Avengers: Doomsday,” which is slated for a theatrical debut on December 18. That strategic tie-in between the franchise’s past and its upcoming future appears to be a significant driver behind the strong ticket sales.

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

“Avengers: Endgame” originally grossed $2,717,503,922 worldwide, currently ranking as the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind “Avatar.” With the re-release already exceeding expectations at the box office before its wide debut, some industry watchers have speculated the additional theatrical run could help close the roughly $124 million gap separating the two films atop the all-time chart, though achieving that would require unusually strong performance across the re-release’s full theatrical window.

Between the historic pre-sales debut and now the possibility of setting a new modern opening weekend record, “Endgame Encore” has become a genuine box office story in its own right rather than a simple victory lap. Whether the film ultimately clears the “Titanic 3D” benchmark will become clear once final numbers roll in after this coming weekend.

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