‘Avengers Endgame: Encore’ tops worldwide box office with $86m; ‘Heart Of The Beast’ launches on $50m

Worldwide box office: Sept 25-27

Credit: Rentrak. All figures are estimates

Marvel rerelease augurs well for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Disney tops the worldwide box office for the September 25-27 weekend with its new version of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, debuting with an estimated $86.0m – combining $26.0m in North America with $60.0m across international markets.

This is the second-biggest opening number for an archive title, behind only the 3D rerelease of Titanic in 2012.

Including this weekend’s estimate, the current global cumulative total for Avengers: Endgame is now $2.885bn, only $39m behind Avatar, which with $2.924bn is the highest-grossing film of all time. (Numbers are not adjusted for inflation.)

The success of Avengers Endgame: Encore is a double win for Disney and Marvel. Not only does it deliver extra revenue at little cost, the film’s big number gives extra impetus to the December release of the Russo brothers’ Avengers: Doomsday – after naysayers were beginning to question the power of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Avengers Endgame: Encore scored its best international number in China (an estimated $13.5m). Next come UK/Ireland ($5.4m), Mexico ($4.2m), India ($2.8m), Japan and Italy (both $2.6m), Brazil ($2.2m), France ($2.1m), Germany ($2.0m) and Spain ($1.7m).

The film topped the box office in North America and multiple international markets including China, UK/Ireland, Mexico, Italy, Brazil and Germany, as well as multiple smaller territories. It was the top non-local title in Spain and Japan.

Imax delivered an estimated $13.7m on the film – 16% of Avengers Endgame: Encore’s opening number. Encore is sharing Imax screens with holdover titles Resident Evil and The Odyssey.

In North America, Avengers Endgame: Encore scored 67% of its box office across premium formats, including Imax, 3D and speciality (4DX, D-Box and ScreenX).

The Encore version of the film contains four extra scenes at the end, prepping audiences for the upcoming Doomsday. Run time of the film is 187 minutes, which compares with 181 minutes for the original Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Doomsday will release globally on December 18, the same day as Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Three – setting up the potential for a Barbenheimer-type cinematic event, currently dubbed Dunesday.

Brad Pitt and his dog score $50m debut

Brad Pitt and a combat veteran dog proved a potent combination at the worldwide box office, launching with a solid $50.1m estimate for Heart Of The Beast – $20.0m in North America and $30.1m across international markets.

The David Ayer-directed survival thriller enjoyed particularly strong appeal in France, launching at the top spot with an estimated $3.8m.

In the film’s other top international markets, it was eclipsed by Avengers: Endgame and/or the second weekend of play for Sony’s Resident Evil.

Behind France in the ranking are UK/Ireland ($2.7m), Mexico ($2.4m), Australia ($1.6m), Spain ($1.5m), Italy and Japan (both $1.2m), and Germany and United Arab Emirates (both $1.0m). Spain was boosted by the film’s local premiere at San Sebastian Film Festival, attended by Pitt and Ayer.

There are still a few markets yet to release. China opens Heart Of The Beast this Wednesday (September 30), with Turkey and Vietnam on October 2 and South Korea on October 29.

Pitt stars as a Special Forces veteran who together with his retired combat dog must survive in the Alaskan wilderness after their self-piloted small plane crashes there.

DreamWorks animation ‘Forgotten Island’ expands worldwide rollout

UPDATE: Following an initial launch in three international markets (Australia, New Zealand and Mexico), Universal’s latest DreamWorks animation Forgotten Island opened in North America at the weekend, also adding a further 31 international territories.

The result: a confirmed $13.0m launch in North America, plus $5.5m across the 34 international markets. Cumulative worldwide total including the earlier release in the initial markets is $20.8m, with international markets accounting for an early $7.8m.

The fantasy adventure is set in the Philippines in the 1990s, and the archipelagic country is a key territory for this title. The Philippines led international markets at the weekend with a confirmed $1.6m, ahead of Australia ($747,000, and $1.8m so far), Spain ($533,000), Italy ($427,000), Brazil ($366,000) and Mexico ($306,000, and $1.3m so far).

Forgotten Island is the first wholly original film from DreamWorks Animation – not a sequel and not based on an existing source – since the box office disappointment of 2023’s Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken ($45.7m worldwide). The studio’s last release Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie reached $80.8m worldwide in 2025.

Universal will be aiming for a bigger number with Forgotten Island, which has a production budget reported at $80m. The rollout of the film is staggered globally, with many key markets yet to release, including Germany (October 8), UK/Ireland (October 16) and France (October 21).

Joel Crawford and Januel P Mercado write and direct. Voice cast includes H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto and Dolly de Leon.

Also for Universal, The Odyssey added a confirmed $17.3m worldwide to reach $1.75bn. The weekend saw Universal pass $5bn globally for 2026 – becoming the first studio so far this year to hit the number.

‘Resident Evil’ hits $196m on second weekend

Horror films are notorious for quick burnout at the box office, especially horror sequels which tend to be exceptionally front-loaded – so Sony should be satisfied with the second session of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil.

The franchise reboot from TriStar Pictures, Constantin Film and Davis Films fell a steep 61% in North America, but only 45% across international holdover markets. Estimated second-weekend takings of $50.3m worldwide take the total to $196.5m, and Resident Evil will pass $200m today.

This eighth film in the Resident Evil series has already overtaken four previous entries, and so lags behind just three of the franchise instalments. Cregger’s film will next overtake 2012’s Resident Evil: Retribution ($240.6m).

The top-grossing film in the series to date remains 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter which reached $312.2m, boosted by $159.5m in China. The new Resident Evil film opens in China on October 5, with Japan to follow on October 9.

Top markets for Cregger’s Resident Evil are UK/Ireland ($11.5m so far), Mexico ($9.0m) and Australia ($5.4m) – already setting a franchise record in all three territories. France ($5.0m via Metropolitan) and Germany ($4.5m via Constantin) are not far behind.

Cregger’s Weapons grossed $270.1m worldwide for Warner Bros last year, and Sony will be looking to exceed that number. Production budget for the new Resident Evil film is reported at $75m.

Also for Sony, Spider-Man: Brand New Day added an estimated $10.3m worldwide, taking the total to just shy of $2.5bn. The film ranks third in the all-time global box office ranking – however, the distance between it and second-placed Avengers: Endgame just got bigger (see above).

‘Primetime’ and ‘The Assassin(s)’ make global top 10 chart

Landing in fourth place in Rentrak’s worldwide weekend chart is A24’s Primetime – driven by an estimated $19.2m opening in North America, plus less than $1m across four international markets. Lance Oppenheim directs Robert Pattinson in this drama about US TV show To Catch A Predator.

Arriving in seventh place is South Korean crime thriller The Assassin(s) – opening with an estimated $12.4m in its home market for Hive Media Corp. Hur Jin-ho directs the biographical drama, exploring the aftermath of the assassination of South Korea’s first lady Yuk Young-soo on Liberation Day in 1974. The Assassin(s) premiered at Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. The cast is led by Yoo Hae-jin (box office smash The King’s Warden), Park Hae-il (Decision To Leave) and Lee Min-ho (Pachinko)

The arrival of four new titles in the worldwide top 10 sees the departure from the listing of Coyote Vs Acme, Insidious: Out Of The Further, Transformers: The Movie (animation rerelease) and Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie.

• ‘The Assassin(s)’ rules Korea’s Chuseok holiday box office with 40% share