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Disney and Marvel's Avengers Endgame: Encore topped the U.K. and Ireland box office yet again with a No. 1 debut of £4.1 million ($5.5 million) in its
opening. The re-release, which brings the 2019 superhero blockbuster back to theatres with added footage, has also performed well in international markets. It debuted to $86 million internationally, including $60 million from overseas and $26 million from North America. The return to theaters comes before Avengers: Doomsday, with the new footage linking Endgame to the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
Avengers Endgame: Encore boosts UK box office
Avengers Endgame: Encore led the box office in the UK and Ireland on its opening weekend with $5.4 million. Sony's Resident Evil was second for the second weekend running with $3 million for a total of $11.6 million.
Paramount's Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt and J.K. Simmons, came in third with $2.8 million. Universal's Sense and Sensibility debuted in fourth with $2 million. Studiocanal’s animated flick Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom added $1.1 million in its second weekend to reach $3.4 million. Practical Magic 2 was sixth with $1 million in its third week, for a total of $9.5 million. Studiocanal's Pressure debuted at No. 7 with $780,739 for a total gross of $7.6 million.
Universal's The Odyssey was in eighth with $494,831 for a U.K. and Ireland total of $117.1 million. Sony's Spider-Man: Brand New Day slipped to ninth place with $422,187 in its ninth weekend, raising its total gross to $134.6 million. The Indian film The Paradise opened with $358,942 in its first session for the number 10 spot.
Avengers Endgame: Encore rakes in $86 million worldwide
The re-release has also seen a massive global opening. Avengers: Endgame Encore took in $86 million globally, including $26 million from North America and $60 million from overseas. That additional cash brings the film's global lifetime gross to around $2.88 billion. The film originally ended as one of the biggest movies in box-office history.
The re-release has narrowed the gap on Avatar, which still leads with about $2.9 billion worldwide. Endgame now trails James Cameron-directed blockbuster by around $39 million.
Endgame encore does well in India and China
The re-release has also maintained the momentum in India. Sacnilk reported that Avengers Endgame Encore collected Rs 7.55 crore net on its third day, taking its three-day total to Rs 22.45 crore net. The Marvel movie was the Chinese mainland box office leader the weekend of September 25-27, with RMB 83.8 million ($12.5 million), according to Artisan Gateway. Its total lifetime gross in China has reached about $647.8 million.
The strong international performance has propelled Endgame Encore to be one of the biggest theatrical releases worldwide this weekend.
Other film releases in UK and Ireland
Among the wide releases, opening in more than 300 theatres, is Warner Bros.' Digger, starring Tom Cruise. Next up for Sony is the psychological thriller adaptation Verity, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. Also coming to a wide release is Universal's Girls Like Girls, directed by Hayley Kiyoko.
Documentary, international, archival and event screenings also fill out the weekend schedule, including Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, Linkin Park: Unshatter, Drishyam: The Conclusion and a 4K restoration of Take It or Leave It.
For now, Avengers: Endgame Encore has provided another solid theatrical run for Marvel, while adding to the blockbuster's already impressive worldwide box-office take.
