Avengers: Endgame Encore Tops a Crowded Box Office Weekend While Lanterns' Nielsen Numbers Barely Move

Avengers: Endgame Encore took the top spot at the box office this weekend, and if you are wondering whether the MCU is in good shape right now, my answer is a resounding yes. It is as if 2025 never happened, and I think that is exactly Kevin Feige's plan.

The irony is that Sony is the one that saved the MCU. Amy Pascal, Destin Daniel Cretton (who just signed a major deal with Sony, not Disney Marvel) and Tom Holland were revealed to be strong creative forces in shaping that super successful Spider-Man film. So when Marvel goes back to its own corner without those players, will it repeat the mistakes that caused its stumble in the first place? Has Marvel really learned any lessons, or has Sony turned out to be a better partner than anyone imagined? Tom Holland is not even in Doomsday. Later in this piece I also lay out my receipts on why the Lanterns Nielsen numbers are not great, despite how much I love the show.

Endgame Encore plays almost like Avengers: Doomsday publicity, and it made money

Will this be a repeat of how fans hoped Multiverse of Madness would be as good as No Way Home? That dream died. The movie still made close to a billion dollars and cemented Wanda as a superstar, and then she was never seen again. She did manage to get Robert Downey Jr.'s attention, though: he admitted that Wanda's intense popularity is what drew him back to the MCU. And where is Wanda now?

Not all fans love the new scenes, but plenty of them still showed up to the multiplex. The whole selling point of Avengers: Doomsday, as we discussed on Friday, is taking fans back to the high point of the MCU, as if Kevin Feige can create a new reality where the rocky years of 2020 to 2025 never happened. If he can pull that off, I think a lot of franchises will want to take notes. This strong opening makes it seem like a number of fans are willing to play along. There have been some good things, but it has been a difficult road.

Even if you did not buy a ticket, you were probably talking about Endgame Encore. There was a ton of chatter online, almost as if it is not so much a re-release as part of the Doomsday publicity plan. In that regard it is extremely effective, and it brought in money. How many advertisements can say that?

I am a little more excited for Avengers: Doomsday after this weekend

As for me, I would say I am a little more excited. I am feeling the hype, and I had a good time, just like old times, which is exactly what Kevin Feige wants: figuring out theories and predictions based on those post credit scenes. I can kind of see what they are building, and I feel like I am a part of it.

I will say that while everybody used to love the Marvel prediction game, fewer people seem interested in it than before. It is still a sizable chunk, just not to the degree it was, but maybe they can get there. They still have a couple of months, and if Avengers: Doomsday is really good, I can see a lot of people jumping back in. They certainly did for the latest Spider-Man movie.

I also think that, in addition to getting everybody excited, re-releasing Endgame shifts the focus away from Sony Marvel and back to just Marvel. You want to get people back in that direction. It is all part of Feige's grand plan, like Doom and Wanda themselves, to create a timeline more to his liking.

I think theater subscriptions are behind the re-release boom, and I see it in packed auditoriums

This is the second biggest opening ever for a re-release, behind the Star Wars re-release back in 1997. What is interesting is something someone pointed out to me on Friday: theater subscription services make going to a re-release much easier because it does not cost anything extra. In 1997, everybody had to pay for a ticket to see Star Wars. So in some regard, the earlier re-releases, before AMC and other subscription services, were a little more potent. Still, they are getting people in front of these franchises and hopefully back into them.

I think movie theater subscription services are why we are seeing so many re-releases, and they are also reconditioning at least some of the audience to go back to the theater after the pandemic conditioned so many people to watch from home. I am an AMC A-List member myself, and between that and my press screenings during the busy fall season, I am at the theater twice a week. There is an energy to it, though not all positive: it is frustrating trying to get tickets, especially because I can only have four reservations at a time, so I am booking for myself, my friends and my family as soon as I get out of a movie.

I am seeing it reflected in the people around me. The theaters are packed, and more people are there by themselves. There has always been a scattering of guys alone at the multiplex, but I am seeing more and more women in the mix too. I did not take a scientific poll, but at my prime time screening last night, I would say a quarter to a third of the audience were there alone, probably as AMC A-List members.

An overscheduled weekend split a big audience, and Endgame's audience skewed young and Latino

It is a little demoralizing to have a seven year old movie beat a slew of new movies. Then again, this weekend was ridiculously overscheduled. A lot of people went to the movies overall: this is the second biggest the 39th weekend of the year has ever been, with the record still belonging to 2015, when Hotel Transylvania 2 led. But that large audience was scattered over three new releases, one big re-release and one big holdover. The silver lining is that the top four movies are all around 20 million dollars apiece.

Endgame skewed male and slightly more Latino, which is interesting because Latino audiences have been leading horror for a while, have started to lead family films and especially family animation, and now are taking the lead in superhero films too. 18 to 34 was the top age group, which is not only the sweet spot for advertisers but shows that the MCU remains relevant. Its fandom is not simply aging up with the franchise, and that is a very good sign.

Resident Evil still has roughly 100 million dollars to make up worldwide

Resident Evil probably would have had a better second weekend hold if it had not been up against Endgame Encore. I really like this Resident Evil, and it should hold up pretty well for the next two weekends until another video game movie, Street Fighter, hits theaters. It is already the highest grossing movie in the franchise domestically, but worldwide it still has something like 100 million dollars to go. It has no countries left to open in, and at this rate, I do not know if it can close that gap.

My view is that a glamorous heroine with guns is a tried and true strategy, and that kind of appeal sells, even if Marvel will not admit it. I love this new Resident Evil, but why not the best of both worlds? It does not have to bring back the previous star, although I do think she should get a cameo to thank her for her time. The director said he did not want the movie to be sexy at all, and while Austin Abrams certainly is charming and has a lot of sex appeal, I think the series could also go a more traditional route going forward. That 100 million dollar gap is hard to dismiss.

Heart of the Beast may show what David Ellison's Paramount looks like

Paramount's Brad Pitt and David Ayer macho tearjerker, Heart of the Beast, managed to finish slightly ahead of the younger, sexier Prime Time. I saw it on Friday, and it was ridiculously sad. I think we are starting to see a glimpse of Paramount's future under David Ellison: two named talents who are kind of cancelled, which we have talked about as his business strategy, meaning talent that still has fans and will work harder and cheaper to get uncancelled. And it is content aimed at conservative middle American audiences, a real Paramount+ style movie. Those audiences absolutely love it, judging by the scores, and it is competitive with the pack.

Personally, I think it is okay. It is no Taylor Sheridan, who is very gifted. One trailer before it stood out: Mr. Irrelevant, from Paramount and Skydance, David Ellison's original film finance and production company, under a banner being called Skydance Sports. This is the movie you might have heard got a 100% audience score in test screenings, which has almost never happened, and its director is the one Paramount just signed for Tom Cruise's Days of Thunder sequel. Will Ellison's Paramount be a cinematic version of Paramount+? That is an interesting business model, and one that might be very successful. Mr. Irrelevant comes out on Christmas Day, and if it can find screens, it might be really competitive.

Here in New York City, Heart of the Beast was hardly playing anywhere, on the smallest screen in each multiplex, literally in the basement. My screening had a lot of senior citizens, including a mother and daughter who were on Instagram and not paying attention to the movie at all, though nobody said anything because it was nice that they were at the movies together. The film is clearly playing on more screens elsewhere in the country given how well it did, so I think regional screen counts are going to become more interesting.

Robert Pattinson can open a movie, but Prime Time is not a good one

A lot of people like to say the movie star is dead, but Brad Pitt just opened a movie, and Robert Pattinson opened one on par with him. That is amazing given how far he has come from his Twilight days. He has rebranded himself and gained a huge bro fandom without losing his original Twilight fans, which means he is building a considerably sized fandom.

The real problem is that Prime Time is not a good movie. That shows in its weak audience scores, and the trades point to a very low definite recommend of just 56%, when 70 to 80% is usually considered solid. Still, A24 and Pattinson flexed some muscle with Gen Z, making this the second movie this year after Obsession to court that elusive audience: 80% of the audience was 18 to 34 and 70% under 30. The gender split was pretty even, though it leaned a bit more Caucasian than usual, since a movie with broad appeal typically draws 30 to 40% of its audience from Caucasian moviegoers.

If only the movie were as good as the trailer. I would expect a pretty strong drop next weekend, and Pattinson needs to be careful not to whiff like this again. He is getting more comparisons to Jake Gyllenhaal, a comparison I made early on, and I would remind Pattinson fans that, in my view, Gyllenhaal really does not have a career anymore. At first I thought Pattinson was DiCaprio, then Johnny Depp, but I would not recommend the Gyllenhaal path. I still like Gyllenhaal and will watch his movies, but not a lot of people would say the same.

DreamWorks' Forgotten Island slipped through the cracks

Forgotten Island is a real shame. The audience scores are fantastic, so maybe it will rally later on digital. But in theaters, it seems the film, or at least the marketing department, did a poor job with outreach. The animated film, praised for shining a spotlight on Filipino culture, had tremendous appeal with Asian audiences but less so with everyone else. It also failed to connect with boys, and its more progressive elements might have hurt it with middle American audiences.

It is obviously better than Disney's Strange World and Wish, but it does seem cut from a similar cloth, and those two movies really burned audiences. With so many movies out this weekend, one was bound to slip through the cracks, and Forgotten Island has no established IP and no huge stars in the voice cast. Disney's upcoming Hex has a bit more star power, but I wonder whether it is headed down the same path.

Practical Magic 2 fades while Spider-Man and The Odyssey make history

Practical Magic 2's spell is beginning to fizzle, and at this point it will not catch Sandra Bullock's last big movie, The Lost City. It is quite far behind. This is not a huge embarrassment for Bullock, but it is not great either. We thought Warner Bros. would drop it on digital in time for Halloween; it is not set for this week, but probably the week after.

Spider-Man and The Odyssey are still going super strong, rising above mere success to become Hollywood history. Coyote vs. Acme took a little tumble, but that shows it is time for digital, which is exactly what happens on Tuesday. Next weekend Digger takes over all the IMAX screens, so The Odyssey will probably take its first significant drop, which is fine because it has already made a ton of money. It is the highest grossing R rated film of all time, among other records, and it is probably going to add Oscar wins in some categories. Mena Massoud's faith based film also barely holds on in the top 10 for another week.

Tyler Perry's sequel, reportedly shot in four days, buries Star Wars and DC on Nielsen

Nielsen has shortened its window to just 11 days, so this chart covers the second week of September. Reacher and The Big Bang Theory are still on top. Tyler Perry's sequel movie also did quite well, and it has been revealed that Perry shot it in just four days, which is nuts. The Gentlemen, Lioness and Ted Lasso continue to be hot shows, and on the originals chart, Outer Banks and Silo are holding up.

On the movie chart, Tyler Perry's four day movie totally buries Star Wars and DC. Mayday has not been able to gain an audience over time, and do not just blame Apple TV, because Mark Wahlberg has had some very successful movies there. One has to wonder whether Ryan Reynolds has recovered from recent headlines.

I love Lanterns, but its Nielsen numbers are not great, and here are my receipts

Some of you disagreed with my analysis last week, so let me explain further. I love Lanterns. I was one of the first people to champion it as soon as I got my screeners, and I am on pins and needles for the season finale, which none of us have seen. But that does not mean I cannot give a fair assessment of its Nielsen performance. This is essentially week four; the chart says five episodes, but episodes drop late Sunday night, the very end of a Nielsen week that runs Monday to Sunday. Lanterns still cannot make the overall chart and sits low on the acquired chart with just 525, up from only 500 last week. So where is the week to week gain?

Yes, Nielsen only tracks US viewership and only on the HBO Max app, so anyone still watching HBO through cable would not show up. But how many people still get HBO through cable, and are they Lanterns fans? I would think most people who follow Lanterns are fully into on demand services. And yes, it is only five episodes into its first season with no backlog. But House of the Dragon's first season had bigger numbers early on and made the overall chart, and The Last of Us season 1 also debuted on the overall chart with bigger numbers. So it can be done by an HBO show in its first season.

To be fair, The Penguin only made the charts with its finale, and Peacemaker and Daredevil: Born Again never charted. Things could definitely be worse, but they could definitely be better. We are still waiting on a season 2 renewal. Lanterns is a hot show on the HBO Max app, a huge juggernaut on social media that trends every Sunday night, it has gotten a number of DC fans excited again, and it is not a very expensive show. Here's hoping they are waiting until after the finale because they cannot confirm whether Kyle Chandler is coming back without ruining it. Let's hope that is the reason.

Netflix, digital and Apple charts: Ryan Murphy's factory and familiar animation

On Netflix, Ryan Murphy does it again, though in more muted fashion. These numbers are only okay, and this is the latest cog out of what has become his content factory. He still has some winners, but the quality is degrading across the board. I will not automatically watch everything he puts out, but I will take a look and consider it. The Gentlemen is doing solid numbers across both seasons and is already set to come back for a season 3.

On the movie side, Tyler Perry's sequel is still number one and The Whisper Man is still going, if not strongly. KPop Demon Hunters is back, surrounded by other animated movies: the Shrek universe, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which is such a good movie, and the iconic first Shrek. Minecraft is also now on Netflix and doing well. Perhaps these are there as an effort by Warner Bros. and Universal to spread the word ahead of the next installments coming to theaters. Hollywood now has a lot of ways to reach audiences, from theaters to social media to on demand.

Apple's digital chart has few changes, but I want to point out Tony. It really sneaks up on you; it is really that good, and I could not recommend it more. It is a movie about food, so have something good to eat. The Godfather trilogy is on sale for just 10 dollars, an offer you cannot refuse, and there is also the direct to digital movie Idiots with Dave Franco and O'Shea Jackson Jr.

Tom Cruise's Digger stands at a fork in the road

This coming weekend, Tom Cruise is at a fork in the road. Either audiences will rally behind him to push him toward the Oscar despite what critics are saying, or he will have one of the biggest flops of his career. The early press screenings have not gone well. There was quite the scandal when some critics changed their Oscar rankings and took Cruise off after seeing the movie, even though we are all under embargo, and Warner Bros. felt that was breaking the embargo. I have not seen it yet; I see it Monday, and the review embargo lifts Tuesday. I cannot wait to see the Rotten Tomatoes score and the audience ratings.

Coyote vs. Acme hits digital on Tuesday, and on Friday Tyler Perry has yet another Netflix movie, talk about another Hollywood factory. Thursday is a very big day: HBO launches a new series I think is amazing, and it has to be, because it is up against Netflix's East of Eden, which has had quite the promotional tour. It drops all seven episodes of the juicy melodrama, with Florence Pugh giving a tour de force performance. Netflix does not allow reviews until debut, so I cannot say much, but "if you told me East of Eden was an HBO show, I would believe it. It's that good." It is an incredible binge; I think I watched it in two days, though I wonder whether it would also have done well week to week.

So which way will Digger go: audience reprieve or colossal flop?