Avengers: Endgame returned to theaters Friday as Encore, a reissue featuring a modified ending and new post credits scenes teasing Avengers: Doomsday. It opened to $26 million domestically from 3,060 locations, topping four new wide releases. Globally, the film earned $86 million over the weekend, according to The Wrap.
That domestic figure edges past the $25.5 million earned by the 20th anniversary re-release of Revenge of the Sith last year, making Endgame Encore the highest-grossing anniversary reissue in recent memory.
Four new releases finished behind it. Resident Evil (Sony/TriStar) held at number two with $23.3 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $103.4 million. Paramount's Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt, opened to $20 million domestically and $50 million globally. A24's Primetime debuted at $19.1 million from 2,874 screens. Universal's Forgotten Island opened to $12.8 million from 3,548 locations. All five top films cleared $10 million domestically.
Endgame's lifetime domestic total now stands at $884 million, with $2.88 billion worldwide. The Encore run positions the film as a direct on-ramp to Avengers: Doomsday, which opens December 18.
When a 2019 film outdraws everything new in theaters, the reissue market is worth taking seriously.