Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame raked in $1.2 Billion in its opening weekend, the biggest opening of any film ever.
“Avengers: Endgame” brought in $1.2 billion its opening weekend at the worldwide box office, breaking prior Marvel Studio records set by “Avengers: Infinity War” at $640 million last year. “Avengers: Endgame” has become the only film in history to debut at the $1 billion mark, achieving this milestone in just five days as the film rolled out last week on Wednesday.
Domestically too, the film shattered records, besting the prior $258 million mark reached by “Avengers: Infinity War” with an estimated $350 million this past weekend, even surpassing analyst estimates. The film opened astronomically with $60 million on its first night domestically, besting “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at $57 million in 2015.
Fans arrive for a costume contest before the first screening of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Photo by Frederic J. Brown, Agence France-Press/Getty Images
The film’s global earnings also exceeded by large measure, the prior record held by "The Fate of the Furious” in 2017. Of the $859 million earned globally, the last film in the Avengers series was very popular in China where the film made $330.5 million, becoming the most popular debut in China’s history.
Photo by Chris Pizzello, AP
A New Era in Storytelling: Worldwide Platform and Shared Viewing Experience
“Avengers: Endgame” has become a worldwide cinematic event where movie theaters are rushing to add showtimes to keep up with audience demand as seats quickly sell out, with some theaters showing the film round the clock 24 hours a day. With a run time of more than three hours, “Endgame,” is showing nationwide at all hours to meet demand. Moviegoers are eager for the full cinematic experience, which includes premium 3-D IMAX tickets and AMX food and beverage, leading to the highest sales in history. “Endgame,” is playing in more than 4,600 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, which is the widest release of any film, according to box-office data firm Comscore.
“We’re watching a monumental moment in the history of cinema unfold - one that the entire world is experiencing together.”
Today moviegoers worldwide can enjoy almost simultaneous film releases, creating a global storytelling phenomenon. “Avengers: Endgame” is the last film in a series of popular films that are intricately woven with individual films throughout the Marvel universe, amounting to a total of 22 interconnected films.
“The pent-up factor, off the ending of ‘Infinity War’ and on the heels of ‘Captain Marvel,’ drove people to show up.”
Over the last 11 years, Marvel has reigned at the box office, beginning with “Iron Man” in 2008. With so many interconnected story lines and characters appearing across films, Marvel has become a household name, along with its line up of eclectic superheroes ranging from Thor to Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel. Marvel’s remarkable continued success has also triggered competing studios to look for their own franchise wonders. Marvel’s slew of comic book heroes has also revitalized the exhibition industry and made American comic books a worldwide global export.
Image via WSJ and data from Boxoffice Mojo
“Though ‘Endgame’ is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned.”
Creating films based on its founder Stan Lee’s comics, Marvel Studios has made almost $20 billion at the worldwide box office over the last 10 years. Few movies are so popular with moviegoers and also with critics. “Endgame” has a 96% score on review site, Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore.
Marvel’s excellent marketing of the most recent Avengers movie builds upon its prior successes. The launch of Disney’s new online video streaming platform, Disney+ could not be more fortuitous or well planned. Moviegoers can enjoy watching blockbuster hits from Marvel, along with its other popular franchises such as Star Wars, Pixars and its own range of Disney popular favorites and classics on both the small screen now, as well as large IMAX screens.
“This will extend to the small screen as well with Disney + on the horizon. We will likely see a lot of synergy between the big and small screen.”