‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Surpasses ‘Revenge of the Sith’ in Re-Release Success

voice film logo squareArthur S. Poe
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Re-releases are often seen as nostalgic side events, a brief encore for films that have long exited theaters. Box office analyst David A. Gross from FranchiseRe pointed out that these re-releases typically don’t earn more than $10 million. However, the numbers from this weekend’s ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ re-release are hard to overlook.

Although the film has been available for home viewing for years and is now seven years old, Disney and Marvel decided to bring it back with new footage aimed at generating buzz for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, set to premiere on December 18. This strategy of reissuing a blockbuster appears to be paying off.

The final numbers are in, and they exceeded initial estimates. According to box office analyst Luiz Fernando, ‘Endgame Encore’ grossed $26.1 million domestically, marking it as the third-largest re-opening weekend for a re-release in history. It surpassed last year’s ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ re-release, bringing the film’s U.S. lifetime total to $884.5 million.

The two films that still rank higher are both iconic. The 1997 special edition of ‘Star Wars’ opened to $35.9 million, while the 2011 3D re-release of ‘The Lion King’ debuted at $30.2 million. Everything else, including ‘Revenge of the Sith’ at just over $25 million, now falls behind the Avengers.

This impressive result came from 3,060 North American theaters, allowing it to dominate the weekend box office. Internationally, the re-release added $60 million, resulting in a global weekend total of $86 million. It also debuted at No. 1 in China with $13.5 million.

The additional material plays a significant role in this success. The Encore version features new scenes and post-credit content linked to ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, and premium formats contributed significantly to the earnings. IMAX and Infinity Vision screens accounted for 60 percent of the weekend’s total, according to Deadline.

These premium formats also showcased more new content, with the IMAX and Infinity Vision version including about 6 minutes and 17 seconds of new footage, compared to 2 minutes and 6 seconds in standard screenings. Infinity Vision represents Disney’s latest approach to premium large formats, and ‘Endgame Encore’ is the first film released under this banner, providing fans with another incentive to purchase tickets for a movie they likely already own.

Not all feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. ComicBook.com noted that reactions to the new scenes were generally lukewarm, yet this did not deter fans from buying tickets in anticipation of ‘Doomsday’. Audience ratings, however, were strong, with PostTrak reporting a 91 percent positive response.

Screenshot 2026 09 24 at 11 24 57 Avengers Endgame Rotten Tomatoes

The audience demographic leaned younger, with viewers aged 18 to 34 making up two-thirds of ticket buyers. This is a promising indicator for a franchise transitioning from its Infinity Saga heroes to a new generation of fans. It also suggests that the theatrical experience still holds appeal, even for a film that many own on physical media.

Thursday previews also reflected this trend, as the re-release opened with $3.8 million in previews, surpassing the $3.4 million earned by ‘Revenge of the Sith’ last year. Fernando highlighted this as the largest Thursday preview earnings ever for a re-release. Unlike the ‘Star Wars’ reissue, which was limited to just one week, the Encore currently has no set end date for its fall run.

The lifetime earnings are equally impressive. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ now stands at approximately $2.88 billion globally, closing in on the all-time record held by ‘Avatar’. Variety also reported that it became only the second film ever to surpass $2 billion at the international box office, solidifying its status as the third-largest North American release of all time.

While it may not surpass ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ at home, which is the all-time domestic leader, a strong multi-week run could bring ‘Endgame’ closer to that record. Meanwhile, ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ promises to reunite nearly all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and reintroduce Robert Downey Jr. as the villain Doctor Doom.

If the Encore serves as an appetizer, ‘Doomsday’ certainly has high expectations to meet. This weekend demonstrated that fans still have a deep affection for these characters, and they are willing to pay for another viewing.

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