In a blast from the past, “Avengers: Endgame” might actually wind up as No. 1 at the domestic box office in… 2026.
Disney is bringing the Marvel juggernaut back to the big screen ahead of “Avengers: Doomsday,” which opens in December. The 2019 superhero adventure is tracking to collect $25 million to $28 million over the weekend, a sizable haul for a re-release. “Avengers: Endgame Encore” will compete for first place against Zach Cregger’s reboot of “Resident Evil,” which is targeting $24 million to $26 million in its sophomore outing. “Resident Evil” topped last weekend’s box office with $61 million, a franchise-best debut.
Meanwhile, three new releases — Paramount’s Brad Pitt-led survival adventure “The Heart of the Beast,” Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s family friendly “Forgotten Island” and A24’s “To Catch a Predator”-inspired “Primetime,” starring Robert Pattinson — will vie for third place. “Primetime” and “The Heart of the Beast” are each projected to debut to $17 million to $20 million, while “Forgotten Island” is aiming for $15 million to $17 million. All three newcomers have great reviews and could exceed expectations with positive word-of-mouth.
“Primetime” cost just $15 million to produce, so the movie is well-positioned to turn a profit in its theatrical run. “The Heart of the Beast” and “Forgotten Island,” by comparison, were much more expensive to make. “The Heart of the Beast” carries an $82 million price tag and “Forgotten Island” was produced for $80 million, so those films will need to stick around on the big screen beyond opening weekend to justify their sizable budgets. (That’s because theater owners get to keep roughly 50% of ticket sales.)
“Primetime” continues a banner year for Pattinson, who starred in the spring indie hit “The Drama,” Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster “The Odyssey” and will appear in Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming “Dune: Part III.” Directed by Lance Oppenheim, “Primetime” follows Pattinson as Dateline NBC journalist Chris Hansen and revolves around the production of the popular series “To Catch a Predator,” in which he attempted to confront child sexual predators in complex sting operations. Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers round out the cast of “Primetime,” which bowed at Venice Film Festival to raves.
“Heart of the Beast” was directed by David Ayer and stars Pitt as a retired veteran who navigates a brutal 58-mile trek to safety after he and his trusted combat dog survive a harrowing plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness. Hollywood will be closely watching “Heart of the Beast” because it’s being released just days after Paramount settled an antitrust case with state attorneys general that removed a major obstacle to closing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount’s CEO David Ellison has pledged to release at least 30 new films a year through the joint company — but exhibitors want to make sure those movies will bring out audiences.
“Forgotten Island,” which revolves around two best friends who get stranded in a mystical world, could benefit from pent-up demand; there hasn’t been a major kid-centric movie since “Moana” in July. Plus, recent animated movies like “The Wild Robot,” “GOAT” and “Minions & Monsters” managed to remain big screen draws in the weeks after their debuts. “Forgotten Island” was directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado and counts H.E.R., Dave Franco and Jenny Slate among the voice cast.
“Avengers: Endgame,” which needs no introduction, looms as the second-biggest movie in box office history with $2.799 billion worldwide. Excitement for the re-release certainly bodes well for “Avengers: Doomsday,” which unites nearly all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and is predicted to be one of the biggest movies of 2026. Right now, Sony’s Marvel sequel “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” ranks as this year’s largest domestic debut with $360 million and highest-grossing worldwide release with $2.47 billion. Will the Avengers mash-up give Spidey a run for those box office records?