Entertainment briefing

'Avengers: Endgame Encore' leads a crowded weekend box office as 'Primetime' and Brad Pitt's 'The Heart of the Beast' open

Disney/Marvel's re-release of 'Avengers: Endgame' with a modified ending and new post-credit scenes led Friday with $11.2 million, while A24's Chris Hansen drama 'Primetime' and Paramount's Brad Pitt survival film 'The Heart of the Beast' each tracked toward roughly $20 million openings. DreamWorks' 'Forgotten Island' is heading for one of the studio's softest debuts.

By US Brief desk · Updated 2026-09-26T17:43:00-07:00

Marquee of the IFC Center movie theater on Sixth Avenue in New York City (file photo)

Editor’s note: Figures are Friday actuals and weekend projections as reported Saturday, Sep 26, 2026 by Variety (Payton Turkeltaub) and TheWrap (Jeremy Fuster), with context from Deadline. Weekend totals are estimates that studios revise on Sunday, Sep 27, and final ranks may change; Variety and TheWrap differ slightly on 'Resident Evil' figures, and both are shown. Budgets are as reported by those outlets, not studio-confirmed.

A seven-year-old Marvel movie is on top of the domestic box office again. Disney's 'Avengers: Endgame Encore' — a re-release of the 2019 blockbuster with a modified ending and new post-credit scenes teasing December's 'Avengers: Doomsday' — earned $11.2 million on Friday from 3,060 locations, according to Variety, and is projected at about $26 million for the weekend.

What happened: Three new wide releases landed behind it. A24's 'Primetime', starring Robert Pattinson as 'To Catch a Predator' host Chris Hansen, took $8.49 million Friday from 2,874 locations and is tracking toward roughly $20.5 million, a strong start against a reported $15 million budget, with a B CinemaScore. Paramount's 'The Heart of the Beast', a David Ayer-directed survival drama starring Brad Pitt as a man stranded with a combat dog after a plane crash in Alaska, made $7.45 million from 3,435 locations and is projected near $20 million; it carries a reported $80 million budget and an A- CinemaScore.

Holdovers and a soft animated launch: Zach Cregger's 'Resident Evil' was fourth on Friday with $6.9 million and is expected to post a second weekend of about $23.5 million (Variety) to $23.8 million (TheWrap) after opening to about $60 million to $61 million, pushing it past $100 million domestically. DreamWorks Animation and Universal's 'Forgotten Island', from directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, earned $4.38 million Friday from 3,548 locations and is tracking toward about $11.5 million — among the studio's lowest openings, though above the all-time low of 'Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken' ($5.5 million). Reviews and audiences are warm: 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore, against a reported $80 million budget.

Why it matters: 'Endgame Encore' is a test of whether a remixed re-release can work as a marketing bridge to a new tentpole. TheWrap reported the run would lift the film's lifetime domestic total to roughly $884 million. The original grossed about $2.799 billion worldwide, just behind 'Avatar' at roughly $2.9 billion. With four films opening or holding in the $20 million range, Deadline said the frame could be the strongest late-September weekend since 2018.

Chris Hansen's reaction: Hansen, whose 'Dateline NBC' segment inspired 'Primetime', described the experience of seeing his story dramatized as "so bizarre and so in-and-out of reality," according to TheWrap.

Uncertainty: These are Friday actuals plus Saturday-morning projections. Studios report weekend estimates on Sunday, Sep 27, and the close race among 'Primetime', 'The Heart of the Beast' and 'Resident Evil' for second place could flip.

What's next: Watch Sunday's estimates, second-weekend holds for the new openers, and how long Disney keeps 'Endgame Encore' in premium screens ahead of 'Avengers: Doomsday' on Dec 18.

Method note: US Brief digests are AI-assisted from the US Brief desk. We synthesize reputable reporting with cited sources; we do not invent quotes, figures, or forecasts.

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'Avengers: Endgame Encore' leads a crowded weekend box office as 'Primetime' and Brad Pitt's 'The Heart of the Beast' open

Disney/Marvel's re-release of 'Avengers: Endgame' with a modified ending and new post-credit scenes led Friday with $11.2 million, while A24's Chris Hansen drama 'Primetime' and Paramount's Brad Pitt survival film 'The Heart of the Beast' each tracked toward roughly $20 million openings. DreamWorks' 'Forgotten Island' is heading for one of the studio's softest debuts.

By US Brief desk · Updated 2026-09-26T17:43:00-07:00

AI-assisted digests from the US Brief desk. Synthesizes reputable reporting with cited sources; not a wire service. Corrections welcomed.

Marquee of the IFC Center movie theater on Sixth Avenue in New York City (file photo)

A seven-year-old Marvel movie is on top of the domestic box office again. Disney's 'Avengers: Endgame Encore' — a re-release of the 2019 blockbuster with a modified ending and new post-credit scenes teasing December's 'Avengers: Doomsday' — earned $11.2 million on Friday from 3,060 locations, according to Variety, and is projected at about $26 million for the weekend.

What happened: Three new wide releases landed behind it. A24's 'Primetime', starring Robert Pattinson as 'To Catch a Predator' host Chris Hansen, took $8.49 million Friday from 2,874 locations and is tracking toward roughly $20.5 million, a strong start against a reported $15 million budget, with a B CinemaScore. Paramount's 'The Heart of the Beast', a David Ayer-directed survival drama starring Brad Pitt as a man stranded with a combat dog after a plane crash in Alaska, made $7.45 million from 3,435 locations and is projected near $20 million; it carries a reported $80 million budget and an A- CinemaScore.

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