Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Monday, September 28, 2026
Late September Box Office Posts Second-Best Weekend Ever at $122.3 Million
Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame Encore dominated the domestic box office this weekend with $26 million from 3,060 theaters, driving a combined North American haul of $122.3 million—the second-best late September frame on record. The re-release, which marks the first major deployment of Disney’s new Infinity Vision premium large-format certification, collected $86 million worldwide in its opening frame. A crowded marketplace featured four wide openers targeting distinct audiences: a Marvel re-release for franchise fans, A24’s crime drama for Gen Z, Paramount’s Heart of the Beast survival film for adults, and DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island for families.
A24’s Primetime Opens to $19.2 Million on $15 Million Budget, Proving Indie Prestige Power
A24’s crime drama Primetime, produced for just $15 million, opened to $19.2 million this weekend—the third-best debut in the label’s history, behind only Backrooms ($81.4 million) and Civil War ($25.5 million). Starring Robert Pattinson as a predator-hunting TV host, the film generated a social media reach of 188 million users across TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X, and Instagram, representing a 31 percent increase over comparable crime-drama titles. Pattinson’s deliberate absence from social media did not hinder the campaign; 69 percent of opening-weekend audiences were under age 30, reflecting A24’s standing as a quality signal for younger moviegoers.
Disney’s Infinity Vision PLF Certification Validates Itself in Avengers Endgame Encore Re-Release
Disney’s premium large-format certification Infinity Vision—requiring theaters to meet rigorous standards for screen size, laser projection, and immersive audio—proved its commercial value this weekend as Avengers: Endgame Encore assembled $86 million globally in the format’s first major theatrical deployment. The certification currently covers 75 screens in the United States and 300 internationally, with more than 7,500 exhibitor screens having applied. More than 70 percent of pre-sale tickets for Avengers: Doomsday (December 18) are for Infinity Vision locations, signaling strong audience demand for Disney’s in-house premium format ahead of its flagship December tentpole.
Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce First-Ever 20% Federal Film and TV Tax Credit
A bipartisan group of lawmakers formally introduced the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act this week, proposing a 20 percent federal tax credit on domestic film and television production costs—the first such federal incentive in U.S. history. Led in the House by Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), with Senate sponsors Sen. Adam Schiff and Sen. Tim Scott, the bill applies to productions budgeted above $1 million with at least 75 percent of filming in the U.S. Four uplift provisions could raise the credit to 30 percent. The Motion Picture Association, IATSE, and the Directors Guild of America immediately endorsed the measure.
Godzilla Minus Zero Stuns New York Film Festival as First IMAX-Shot Japanese Feature
Godzilla Minus Zero, director Takashi Yamazaki’s follow-up to Godzilla Minus One, made its world premiere as a Spotlight Gala selection at the New York Film Festival on September 26, generating strong early audience reactions. The Toho/GKIDS co-production marks two industry firsts: the first Japanese film produced natively for IMAX, and the first R-rated entry in the Godzilla franchise. Ahead of the premiere, Toho released a new trailer and revealed additional cast members. The film is set to open in Japan on November 3, followed by a wide North American release on November 6, distributed by GKIDS.
Netflix’s Unabomber Launches Globally September 25 as Platform’s Flagship Fall Feature
Netflix released Unabomber globally on September 25, positioning the psychological thriller as its major American feature film for the fall season. Directed by Janus Metz Pedersen, the film stars Jacob Tremblay as a 16-year-old Ted Kaczynski—a Harvard prodigy subjected to controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray (Russell Crowe)—tracing his path from gifted student to domestic terrorist. Shailene Woodley plays FBI agent Joanne Miller, who leads the eventual manhunt. Reviews are split: the Hollywood Reporter praised Tremblay’s performance, while Variety characterized the film as a hokey retread. Netflix has billed Unabomber as its major feature release for September 2026.
Sources: Hollywood Reporter
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Reboot Surpasses $100 Million Domestic in Second Weekend
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot added $23 million in its second North American weekend, pushing its domestic cumulative total past $100 million from the same 3,684 locations that drove its $60 million opening. The Sony Pictures production, budgeted at $75 million, carried a 96 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes—the best-reviewed entry in Resident Evil franchise history—alongside a 91 percent audience score, also a franchise high. The second-weekend hold reflected strong word-of-mouth and critical momentum for director Cregger, whose previous horror film Weapons had opened to $70 million worldwide.
Box Office Top 20 — Weekend Actuals (Sept. 26–28, 2026)
Confirmed actuals for top 5; holdover estimates from Sunday actuals. Source: The Numbers / Deadline.
| # | Title | Weekend | Wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resident Evil (2026) | $23.0M | 2 |
| 2 | Avengers: Endgame Encore (New) | $26.0M | 1 |
| 3 | Heart of the Beast (New) | $20.0M | 1 |
| 4 | Primetime (New) | $19.2M | 1 |
| 5 | Forgotten Island (New) | $12.8M | 1 |
| 6 | Practical Magic 2 | $6.2M | 3 |
| 7 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $4.3M | 10 |
| 8 | The Odyssey | $4.0M | 9 |
| 9 | Coyote vs. Acme | $2.2M | 3 |
| 10 | Daniel and the Fiery Furnace | $1.8M | 3 |
| 11 | Runner | $820K | 2 |
| 12 | Buddy | $755K | 4 |
| 13 | Insidious: Out of the Further | $655K | 5 |
| 14 | PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie | $308K | 7 |
| 15 | Hope | $248K | 2 |
| 16 | Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! | $140K | 3 |
| 17 | By Any Means | $116K | 7 |
| 18 | Tony | $103K | 7 |
| 19 | The Uprising | $88K | 6 |
| 20 | The Stunt Driver | $59K | 2 |
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