Seven years after its initial release, “Avengers: Endgame” confirms that it remains one of the most powerful films in the Marvel universe in theaters. Re-released in France on September 23 in an “Extended” version, the Russo brothers’ blockbuster attracted nearly 50,000 viewers on its first day of screening, with an average of about 50 admissions per session. The film thus took the lead among Wednesday’s new releases, just ahead of David Ayer’s “Heart of the Beast” starring Brad Pitt, credited with 48,500 admissions excluding previews. The performance is all the more notable as it is not a new film but a re-release of a feature already seen by more than 7 million viewers in France since 2019.
However, Disney and Marvel did not organize this re-release as a simple nostalgic operation. “Avengers: Endgame Extended” is offered for a limited duration of two weeks and directly serves as a launchpad for “Avengers: Doomsday,” expected in France on December 16. On this occasion, viewers discover an exclusive preview of the next installment, with additional content in certain IMAX or Infinity Vision certified theaters. The strategy is clear: to immerse the audience back into the Avengers universe a few weeks before the release of the film that is meant to relaunch Marvel’s major event machinery.
A re-release already surpassing that of “Avatar”
The first day’s result even places this new screening above the 2022 re-release of “Avatar,” which attracted about 40,000 viewers on its Wednesday return before reaching nearly 580,000 admissions in total. The comparison should be taken with caution, as programming contexts and screening durations differ, but it provides an indication of the audience’s persistent attachment to “Endgame.” The film also retains a historic place in the global box office, with approximately 2.8 billion dollars in revenue during its initial run, making it still one of the greatest commercial successes in cinema history.
The French ranking of September 23 also shows that the film had to withstand real competition. “Heart of the Beast” nearly matches its performance, while Jeanne Herry’s “Garance” starts around 26,000 admissions. Further down, “Primetime” with Robert Pattinson and Éric Barbier’s “Justin le Juste” exceed 10,000 tickets sold. The Marvel re-release therefore does not dominate in an unopposed market, but in a relatively dense release day. This is what makes its result even more significant: viewers returned massively for a 3 hour 6 minute film already widely available on video and streaming.
Marvel tests its ability to recreate the event before “Doomsday”
This re-release also serves as a test for Marvel Studios. Since the end of the “Infinity saga,” the studio has multiplied films and series with more irregular performances, without systematically regaining the collective appointment effect that accompanied “Infinity War” then “Endgame.” The return to theaters of one of its greatest successes thus allows measuring whether this generation of characters still holds enough attraction power to prepare the ground for a new phase. “Doomsday” will also be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and features a very large cast including notably Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Florence Pugh, and Patrick Stewart.
The French start obviously does not predict the final total of the re-release, but it shows that the “Avengers” brand retains a rare commercial strength. With nearly 50,000 admissions on the first day for a seven-year-old film, Marvel manages to turn a re-release into a full promotional event. The question now will be whether this momentum continues over the two weeks of screening and, above all, if it will convert in December into attendance for “Avengers: Doomsday.” For Disney, the operation already allows reactivating one of the strongest MCU memories while directly reconnecting “Endgame” to its next major event.
