W40 Preview: Avengers: Endgame Is No. 1 Again Seven Years Later, and Hillman College Reopens on Netflix

12 days ago by Alex Reed 5 min read

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Avengers: Endgame Encore took the September 25-27 weekend with $26 million domestic and $86 million worldwide, the third-best domestic re-release opening ever, thanks to four new Avengers: Doomsday scenes. Brad Pitt's The Heart of the Beast and A24's Primetime both opened near $20 million, and on streaming Netflix's A Different World and SNL season 52 are out now.

Seven years after it closed out the Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame is the number one movie in America again. Disney's Endgame Encore re-release took the September 25-27 weekend with $26 million domestic, beating a brand-new Brad Pitt movie, a brand-new Robert Pattinson movie, and last week's record-breaking horror reboot. On the streaming side, Hillman College is open for enrollment again on Netflix, and SNL is back for season 52.

Here's what's worth your time this week.

In theaters: Endgame is back, and it brought new footage

This isn't a straight re-release. Disney added four new scenes at the end of the film to set up December's Avengers: Doomsday, which is exactly the kind of thing that gets people who already own Endgame on three formats back into a theater. It worked.

• Domestic weekend: $26,000,000 — No. 1 for the weekend
• International: $60,000,000
• Worldwide weekend: $86,000,000
• Domestic re-release rank: third-best re-release opening ever, behind only the 1997 Star Wars: Special Edition ($35.9 million) and 2011's The Lion King 3D ($30.2 million)
• Worldwide re-release rank: second-best global debut for a re-release, behind Titanic 3D in 2012
• Endgame lifetime worldwide: $2.885 billion — now within about $35 million of Avatar's $2.92 billion all-time record

Quick note on that "third-best" line, because you'll see it everywhere: it's the domestic ranking. Globally, $86 million puts Encore second among re-releases, with Titanic 3D still holding the top spot.

That Avatar gap is the fun part. A second weekend like this one and the all-time crown is suddenly a real conversation again.

Anticipation level: 8/10. You know the movie. The four new scenes are the reason to go, and a crowd that already knows every beat of the portal scene is its own kind of experience. Where to watch: in theaters now.

The rest of a genuinely crowded weekend

Deadline called it a weekend where three films posted $20M+ each, and the whole top four landed within $7 million of each other:

• 1. Avengers: Endgame Encore (Disney) — $26.0 million
• 2. Resident Evil (Sony) — $23.3 million in its second weekend, down 61%, and the first Resident Evil movie ever to pass $100 million domestic
• 3. The Heart of the Beast (Paramount) — $20.0 million opening
• 4. Primetime (A24) — $19.2 million opening

The Heart of the Beast — No. 3

David Ayer directs Brad Pitt as a retired veteran who survives a plane crash in Alaska with his combat dog, and the two of them have to cover 58 miles of wilderness to get out. It opened to $20 million in North America and $30.1 million from 63 international markets, for $50.1 million worldwide. Audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore, and the reviews have been strong.

Anticipation level: 7/10. A survival thriller with a dog is a very specific pitch, and if it's your pitch, this is your weekend. Where to watch: in theaters now.

Primetime — No. 4, and a big deal for A24

Lance Oppenheim's Primetime stars Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen, the To Catch a Predator host, and it opened to $19.2 million on a $15 million budget. That's the third-biggest domestic opening in A24's history, behind only Backrooms ($81.4 million) and Civil War ($25.5 million). It also beats Pattinson's last A24 outing, The Drama, which opened to $14.4 million in April.

It came fourth this weekend, but a movie that made more than its budget in three days is not the story of the weekend's loser. Some headlines are calling it an all-time A24 record; it isn't. Third place on A24's list is still very good.

Anticipation level: 8/10. A true-crime-TV satire with Pattinson doing a deeply uncomfortable impression is the most interesting thing in theaters this week. Where to watch: in theaters now.

Streaming: back to Hillman, and back to Studio 8H

A Different World — Netflix, all 10 episodes out now

Netflix's A Different World sequel premiered on Thursday, September 24, exactly 39 years to the day after the NBC original debuted. All 10 half-hour episodes dropped at once.

The setup: Deborah Wayne starts her freshman year at Hillman, her parents' alma mater, and tries to build her own legacy with a new generation of students. The parents are who you think they are. Kadeem Hardison is back as Dwayne Wayne and Jasmine Guy is back as Whitley Gilbert, with more of the original cast returning around them.

Ten half-hours is a single evening if you're committed, or a week of dinners if you're not.

Anticipation level: 8/10 — the returning cast alone gets it the look. Where to watch: Netflix, full season.

Saturday Night Live — Season 52 premiere

SNL kicked off season 52 on Saturday, September 26. The host was Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, the first NBA player to host since LeBron James in 2007, with Katseye as musical guest. New episodes air live on NBC and simulcast on Peacock, and the full episode is on Peacock the next morning.

Anticipation level: 6/10 for the premiere itself. Athlete hosts are a coin flip. Where to watch: NBC live, Peacock on demand.

The takeaway

This is the rare weekend where the most-watched movie in the country is seven years old, and it earned the spot fairly: four new scenes, a real record, and a shot at Avatar's crown. If you want something new, Primetime is the pick: a small A24 movie that already earned back its budget. If you're staying home, A Different World is the easy call, with ten episodes sitting there and a lot of familiar faces.

See you next week.