$1.2 billion. One. Point. Two. Billion. Dollars. Welcome to the absolutely bonkers world of box office reporting in the era of “Avengers: Endgame.”
We all knew this weekend was going to be massive. But even our wildest expectations didn’t brace box office nerds for the reality. “Avengers: Endgame” arrived and, as expected, was the biggest film release of all-time (in just about every way). The shocking part is just how massive the film’s debut truly was. So, let’s just dive right in…
Last month, we published a report saying that ‘Endgame’ would have a shot at a $300 million domestic opening and possibly, possibly $1 billion worldwide. Guess what? We really should have been looking higher.
As of the latest estimates (which could change by tomorrow, when the final totals are released), “Avengers: Endgame” is likely going to earn a staggering $354 million in its first 3 days, domestically. As late as last week, analysts were still trying to figure out ways the film could even make $300 million in its opening weekend. Little did we know, that wouldn’t even be close to a problem, as ‘Endgame’ shattered the previous all-time opening weekend record set last year by “Avengers: Infinity War.” Hyperbole isn’t possible when this new film beats a record that many believed was unbeatable by almost $100 million.
How the film came to earn $354 million in 3 days is thanks to a variety of records that were accrued over the weekend, including largest Thursday night previews ($60 million), largest Friday/Single Day ($158.3 million), largest Saturday ($109 million), and largest Sunday ($84.3). These numbers were possible thanks to ‘Endgame’ having the biggest wide release ever, in 4,662 locations.
As for other records that are in the bag but not yet official, ‘Endgame’ has already earned more money than the record for largest 4-day and 5-day opening, with only $5 million separating it from largest 6-day opening. And obviously, this film is now the record-holder for fastest film to reach $100 million, $200 million, $300 million, and $350 million. Honestly, we could go on forever with these numbers. They’re just that impressive.
Now, $300 million domestically was the longshot estimate domestically. Worldwide, analysts were wondering if ‘Endgame’ would reach $1 billion after its opening weekend. And it should be no surprise that the film reached that coveted milestone, with ease.
Thanks to an estimated $330.5 million in its first 5-day opening weekend in China, “Avengers: Endgame” reached box office heights unimaginable, setting records in just about every territory it opened in this weekend, on its way to $1.2 billion worldwide. The previous record for biggest worldwide box office opening weekend was set, you guessed it, by last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” which earned $640 million. As we’ve covered before, that ‘Infinity War’ total didn’t include the $190 million the film earned in China, as that occurred later. So, if we wanted a true apples-to-apples comparison, the number that the latest ‘Avengers’ film had to reach was $830 million, and it easily did that, reaching $1.2 billion overall.
When you talk about a number that incredible, there’s really no single weekend that can compare. You just have to start comparing the opening weekend of ‘Endgame’ to the overall grosses of similar films. This is when you can fully grasp how ludicrous this box office record truly is.
After the dust has settled on this weekend, ‘Endgame’ will have already earned more than Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises. And as far as recent films, the latest ‘Avengers’ has already earned more than Marvel Studios’ other 2019 release, “Captain Marvel,” as well as last year’s mammoth “Aquaman.” Long story short, after only 5 days in theaters (opening 2 days earlier than everywhere else in China), ‘Endgame’ is now #18 worldwide, all-time. Wow.
What does the future hold for ‘Endgame?’ That’s the big question facing the film now. Clearly, it’s doing better than anyone could have predicted, so trying to figure out exactly where it will end up is a fool’s errand. However, just as a fun exercise, if ‘Endgame’ ends up performing similarly to ‘Infinity War’ over time, with the latter film earning roughly 2.5x it’s worldwide opening (if we use $830 million as the unofficial opening for last year’s film), then we could be looking at ‘Endgame’ earning somewhere in the $3 billion range worldwide after everything is all said and done. For comparison’s sake, “Avatar” holds the overall record of $2.788 billion. Needless to say, it’s going to be an interesting couple of months.
It would appear that this new ‘Avengers’ film has the goodwill from the critics (currently at 96% on RT) and the audience (receiving the best possible ‘A+’ CinemaScore). All that talk of the 3-hour runtime being a detriment to the film’s success seems silly in hindsight, huh?
Obviously, the folks at Disney are elated with this monster opening.
“Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios team have continued to challenge notions of what is possible at the movie theatre both in terms of storytelling and at the box office,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “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, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world.”
“From the very beginning with ‘Iron Man,’ all we’ve wanted to do was tell stories that brought these characters to life on screen the way we’ve experienced them as fans of the comics,” said Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios. “That we’ve had so many other successes in this journey leading to this unbelievable result with ‘Avengers: Endgame’ has been almost entirely due to the fans around the world who have supported us through it all. Our directors, Anthony, and Joe Russo, and our writers, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely, really brought this story home, and I am also incredibly thankful for our cast and filmmakers from across the MCU and all who’ve worked so hard to make these films the best they can be, including the amazing teams at Marvel Studios and Disney. And of course, without Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, none of this would have been possible.”
Said directors Anthony and Joe Russo, “We poured our heart and soul into ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ hoping to tell a story that would inspire audiences around the world. Our family of cast and crew felt honored to be entrusted with bringing the Infinity Saga to a close. To Kevin Feige, everyone at Disney and Marvel, and the incredible, global community of fans – thank you.”
Here are some other random stats and records set by the film:
An estimated $540 million in ticket sales was generated by the 3D format.
Biggest IMAX global debut ($91.5M)
#1 China opening day ($107.8M) and opening weekend ($330.5M) and already ranks as the #4 non-local film ever released there
Fastest film to $1B globally (5 days)
Biggest industry opening weekend across all regions and in 44 markets, including Australia, China, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, France (admissions, non-local), Italy (non-local), Spain, UK/Ireland
Biggest industry single-day grosses in 29 markets, including Australia, China, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, UK/Ireland
READ MORE: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ May Give The ‘Black Widow’ Solo Film Some Unexpected Layers
At this point, after ‘Endgame’ is long gone, will there be any film that comes close to this sort of opening? Perhaps it’s a bit short-sighted, but it’s hard to imagine anything eclipsing these records. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” might end up with some domestic records, but the franchise is nowhere near as dominant as the MCU overseas. Marvel Studios probably won’t have anything this big for at least another 5 to 10 years. And unless “Avatar 2” is somehow able to recapture the magic of the first one (the decade-plus gap between films is sure to hurt it), there isn’t a franchise on the planet that exists at this time that can possibly compete with these numbers.
As for the rest of the domestic openings this weekend, “Captain Marvel” rose to #2 with another $9 million. It’s now at $413 million domestic, and $1,110 billion worldwide. And there were 8 other movies that saw massive declines. But really, does it even matter?
Keep an eye on The Playlist throughout the next week, as we keep tracking ‘Endgame’ and it’s sheer domination of the box office.