Because our pop culture is so ephemeral these days and the summer movie season is highly competitive,Avengers: Endgamemade a huge splash on its opening weekend, but its pace has slowed considerably in the seven weeks since it was released. It’s justabout $45 million shyof beatingAvataras the highest-grossing worldwide release of all-time, and Disney isn’t going to let that stand to come so close and miss the title.
Speaking toComicBook, Marvel Studios headKevin Feigerevealed thatEndgamewill be re-released into theaters with some new footage. “We are doing that,” Feige said of anEndgamere-release with new footage. “I don’t know if it’s been announced. And I don’t know how much… Yeah, we’re doing it next weekend.”
Next weekend is probably the ideal slot forEndgame’s re-release, although Disney’s aversion to re-releasing its home titles has reared its head again. Yes, it’s a smart move to re-releaseEndgameless than a week beforeSpider-Man: Far From Homecomes out. It will almost certainly generate enough business to edge it pastAvatarat the worldwide box office.However, I’d counter that what would be even better than a few minutes of new footage (I seriously doubt they’re going to make a 3-hour movie significantly longer) is to simply re-release bothAvengers: Infinity WarandEndgameand make that a bit of an event in and of itself where fans can see the whole two-part saga back-to-back. But I suppose the counterpoint there is that it’s harder to get in more screenings ofEndgamethat way, and if your eye is on beatingAvatar, you need as manyEndgamescreenings as possible.
The question now becomes whether or not the new footage is really worth it. The Russos made their cuts for a reason, so I doubt there’s anything essential that’s being re-added to the picture. But for die-hard fans who want to see everythingEndgamehas to offer, they’ll likely be making another trek to the theater.
