‘Avengers: Endgame Encore,’ ‘Forgotten Island,’ and ‘Primetime’ Are All Set to Battle It Out in the Most Unpredictable Weekend of the Year
The fall box office season has been building toward this stretch for months, with a packed lineup of newcomers preparing to hit theaters just as awards buzz and blockbuster nostalgia collide. September has already delivered a handful of surprises, from horror reboots to animated originals, and the industry has been watching closely to see which trend wins out as autumn moviegoing kicks into gear.
This particular weekend adds an extra layer of intrigue, mixing a beloved franchise re-release with two brand-new original films chasing very different audiences. It’s shaping up to be one of those rare stretches where box office analysts genuinely can’t agree on who comes out on top.
According to current tracking, ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore,’ ‘Forgotten Island,’ and ‘Primetime‘ are all projected to land somewhere between $18,000,000 and $24,000,000 domestically this coming weekend. That kind of tight, overlapping range across three very different releases is exactly what’s fueling so much uncertainty heading into the weekend.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME ENCORE as well as FORGOTTEN ISLAND and PRIMETIME are all tracking to make $18M-$24M this coming weekend.
— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) September 21, 2026
The most unpredictable weekend of the year, as @A24 strengthens its position as the new mine-major studio in Hollywood. pic.twitter.com/hHLm4O8sqA
‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ returns Disney’s record-breaking blockbuster to theaters in the lead-up to ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ giving fans a chance to revisit the franchise’s biggest moment on the big screen before the next chapter arrives in December. DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Forgotten Island,’ meanwhile, is an original party comedy adventure rooted in Philippine mythology, marking directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado’s attempt to carve out space for family audiences in a market that’s leaned heavily on sequels lately.
Reassemble the team & relive the experience as Avengers Endgame: Encore returns to theaters September 25.
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) August 25, 2026
Tickets now available for IMAX and Infinity Vision screens: https://t.co/pZZ4PiOyQb pic.twitter.com/2wKSVG4FLz
Then there’s ‘Primetime,’ A24’s Robert Pattinson-led thriller inspired by the real-life story of television host Chris Hansen and his groundbreaking true crime docuseries. Directed by documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim in his narrative feature debut, the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a strong critical reception, with reviews trending toward a near-perfect consensus.
You see how this looks, right? Lance Oppenheim's PRIMETIME produced by and starring Robert Pattinson as famed To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, inspired by true events. Have a seat September 25. pic.twitter.com/FvGyl2dIBs
— A24 (@A24) August 6, 2026
‘Primetime’s performance this weekend carries extra weight given the run A24 has been on lately. The specialty studio just wrapped a historic summer thanks to ‘Backrooms,’ the YouTuber-directed horror hit that became A24’s highest-grossing release of all time after debuting to $81,000,000 domestically.
That single film helped A24 finish the summer season with roughly 5.5% of the domestic market and $237,000,000 in total revenue, enough to edge out both Warner Bros. and Paramount despite operating with a far smaller theatrical footprint than either legacy studio. It’s a remarkable shift for a company that built its reputation on prestige arthouse fare rather than populist blockbusters.
With ‘Primetime’ now entering the marketplace on the strength of glowing reviews and Pattinson’s growing box office pull following a stacked 2026 that included ‘The Drama’ and ‘The Odyssey,’ A24 has another opportunity to prove its summer breakout wasn’t a fluke. If the film lands anywhere near the higher end of its projected range, it would represent one of the biggest openings in the studio’s history.
Wapoosh! 🤜🤛 From the directors of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Experience @DreamWorks Forgotten Island only in theaters September 25! pic.twitter.com/FTdXOE35N3
— DreamWorks Animation (@Dreamworks) June 23, 2026
The weekend isn’t just a three-way race, either. Paramount’s Brad Pitt survival thriller ‘Heart of the Beast,’ directed by David Ayer, is also opening wide alongside the trio, adding yet another variable into an already unpredictable few days at the multiplex.
That kind of scheduling crunch makes this weekend a genuine test of audience appetite across multiple genres at once. Nostalgic franchise moviegoers, families looking for original animated content, awards-season adjacent thriller fans, and survival-story audiences are all being asked to make a choice in the same 72-hour window.
It’s a dynamic that’s become increasingly common as studios continue jockeying for prime late-September release dates ahead of the holiday rush. With ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ still months away and the box office still riding high off a strong Q3, the industry has plenty riding on how this particular slate of films performs.
Whichever film ultimately claims the top spot, the real story of the weekend may end up being just how close the numbers land across the board. A tight three-way race like this doesn’t come around often, and it’s giving box office watchers plenty to dissect heading into the final weekend of September.
Which movie will lead the box office this weekend?
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