In the days ahead, we’re going to see a lot of box office records fall asAvengers: Endgameplows ahead and makes a ridiculous amount of money. The very fact that theaters are staying open for 72 hours balances out the film’s 3-hour run-time, and by givingEndgamemore screenings, the film should easily eclipse the totals of previous record-holders.
Take for example Thursday Night Previews. Since midnight screenings no longer exist and films traditionally premiere on Thursday nights, this has become a new metric to see how excited people are to become the first to catch a movie. Additionally, with its #DontSpoilTheEndgame campaign, Disney and Marvel ensured that fans wouldn’t want to hesitate to check out the latest MCU film. And it worked.
In a press release, Disney announced thatAvengers: Endgamehas pulled in a record-breaking $60 million from Thursday night previews alone. The previous record-holder wasStar Wars: The Force Awakenswith $57 million.Avengers: Infinity Warcurrently has the record for biggest opening weekend of all-time with $257 million, but it looks likeEndgamewill break that record easily. The bigger question is whether or notEndgamewill reach the vaunted $300 million mark on its opening weekend.
Overseas,Endgameis also preforming, pretty much setting the single-day record everywhere it opens including “China (incl. midnights), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Korea (admissions), UK, Brazil, Egypt, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad and Uruguay.” Right now, the film is sitting at $305 million from international alone. We shouldn’t be surprised if the film becomes the fastest title to ever hit $1 billion worldwide.
Right now,Star Wars: The Force Awakensstill holds plenty of records, but that could change in the days and weeks ahead ifEndgameis a juggernaut. The main thing to keep in mind is thatThe Force Awakenshad legs in part because it had no competition. It was able to steamroll through January because no major movies open in January. In the next month alone,Endgamewill be taking onPokemon: Detective Pikachu,John Wick: Chapter 3,Aladdin, andGodzilla: King of the Monsters. So it will be interesting to see the kind of legs the new Marvel movie has.
