SPOILER: This article contains spoilers related to Avengers: Endgame Encore.
Avengers: Endgame Encore was clearly a well-thought-out strategy by Disney and Marvel to capitalize on the success of Avengers: Endgame.
The box office results have been staggering. The first weekend of the re-release generated $86 million in revenue globally ($26 million in North America and $60 million globally) and has now generated approximately $126 million through the end of last week. As a result, Avengers: Endgame is once again the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Avatar.
Table of Contents
According to Disney, the global opening was the second largest global opening ever for a re-release, second only to Titanic 3D.
The fact that this seven-year-old movie did so well at the box office should come as no surprise. Marvel added new footage to the film in order to help lead up to the release of Doomsday, and fans flocked to see it. However, the manner in which fans have received this additional content is beginning to leave them with a bad taste in their mouth.
What’s Actually New In Encore
The re-release also includes 4 new scenes, an extended ending, and 3 post-credit scenes, for a total of approximately 4-5 additional minutes. In the extended ending, while Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) are having a slow dance together, someone knocks on the door. It is Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and he says that he is there to assist them.
The post-credit scene first features Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) sitting alone in a subterranean chamber after Spider-Man: brand New Day. A voice then comes through the speakers. Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) tells Banner that he is there to take him, or probably the Hulk. The final portion of the post-credit scene is more like a preview of what will happen in the future as opposed to being a full-fledged scene. In this portion of the post-credit scene, we see Doctor Doom making his metallic mask.
In the remaining scene that has created such a buzz, we are taken to TVA headquarters where Mobius (played by Owen Wilson), Ouroboros (played by Ke Huy Quan), and Casey (played by Eugene Cordero) view as the boards illuminate with several incursions and various Earths are being fired upon by other Earths. This indicates that the TVA will have a major role in Doomsday.
The Scene That Only Some Fans Get
The catch with the TVA scene being only in IMAX and Infinity Vision screenings is that the standard viewing experiences of the film have only three out of four of the new scenes. That translates into about two minutes of additional footage.
Disney’s new premium large-format certification is Infinity Vision. Disney also announced that those screens would have an exclusive ending tag. Fans did not realize until opening weekend exactly what that meant in practice, and Marvel has never clearly stated this through its promotions. When Disney made the announcement regarding an additional sneak peek, they never identified the footage. Viewers only became aware of the gap once they watched the film.
The business aspect of this story should also be mentioned. At the time of the announcement, there were reports that Infinity Vision was Disney’s way to get around not having any top-notch IMAX spots available in December because Dune: Part Three had already taken them. If those reports are correct, then the exclusive scene is part of a larger plan to justify why customers would pay more for this new format.
The format appears to be successful, at least from a financial standpoint. According to Disney, Encore was released in more than 3,000 theaters, with over 1,300 being Infinity Vision screens. These premium screens represented approximately 52% of the total box office receipts during the first weekend of release.
Why The Missing Scene Isn’t A Big Loss, And Why It Still Matters
I’ll admit that those people who didn’t pay for the premium tickets won’t be lacking anything important. Those scenes involving Loki and Bruce Banner will relate to Doomsday more than anything else. However, everyone can view them. While the TVA scene is an added bonus — a humorous glimpse into what lies ahead — it does not need to be viewed. Fans who viewed the film in regular format have not been forgotten.
And there lies the issue. To ask people to pay, on average, an additional 6 to 8 for a scene that is really not necessary is a poor decision. In addition to being a bad idea, the way this looks also contributes negatively. The re-release is almost genius.
It is likely it would have done quite well without any additional scenes, as many people would like to refresh themselves prior to the next major film. However, providing extra content to those who will pay more creates a perception (even if it wasn’t the goal) that viewers who are willing to pay more receive more, and all other viewers receive less.
The fact that the message was not clear enough for people to understand has also contributed to this issue. As one publication stated, Encore was like an expensive blind bag – a delight for some, a source of frustration for others. Had Marvel merely told fans “Endgame is coming back with a new post-credit sequence exclusively on premium screens,” then fans would have been aware of exactly what they purchased.
However, because Marvel was vague about what they were offering, many fans found themselves surprised, and surprise isn’t a good emotion when you are spending money.
A Precedent Worth Watching
What happens after is a larger issue. Disney is clearly invested in Infinity Vision, and since more than half of the first-time box office was generated by these screens, they should use the same approach again. If it worked once, why would it not work again?
The first test may be coming soon. The re-released version of Spider-Man: brand New Day was recently announced and will include additional footage. Many fans want to see the scene where Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple returns. If the extra footage is included in all screenings, this could mean that Disney heard fans’ complaints regarding Encore.
However, if the extra footage is only available with premium tickets, then it tells fans that the studio doesn’t really care how bad they look.
The studio’s use of extra material in a re-release creates some concern as to whether or not the studio will use this type of marketing strategy with the upcoming release of Doomsday.
It would be easy for the studio to offer similar incentives (extra material) to those customers who purchased a premium version of the new film. This could lead to a slippery slope that the studio would be able to avoid if they were more transparent at this time.
