As expected, Avengers: Endgame is making bank at the box office this week. What we didn’t expect is just how much.
The 22nd installment of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe opened Thursday with late-night pre-show screenings, and since then it earned a whopping $156.7 million domestically. That’s about $37.7 million more than the opening for Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($119 million) and about $50.7 million than the opening for Avengers: Infinity War ($106 million).
That puts Endgame on track to earn an unprecedented three-day domestic box-office gross in the range of $310M-$340M — and that’s not even accounting for international numbers.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War), the epic climax of the MCU as we know it has already earned $487 million from international locations. As for a global total, Endgame is at $643.7 million.
The film is already proving itself to be a massive payoff for a story that began with 2008’s Iron Man.
With stars Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Brie Larson, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Tessa Thompson, Danai Gurira, Karen Gillan, and Bradley Cooper, Avengers: Endgame sees the final showdown between the remaining Avengers and Thanos (Josh Brolin).
Adding to the hype is Disney’s mystery box approach. The studio released trailers but kept the marketing to a few select pieces of footage, while specific plot details have been kept under wraps.
Broken box-office records for the title include highest opening weekend internationally of all-time, highest grossing three-day start in China (with $217 million earned in that territory), the highest all-time industry single day in China, the highest opening weekend globally of all-time, and highest all-time industry opening day in Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Bosnia/Herz, Czech Rep, Serbia (non-local), Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, East Africa and West Africa.
Let’s see what else the film will achieve.
Related content:
Avengers: Endgame explained: Easter eggs, answers, and endings
Avengers: Endgame explained: Who was the lone kid at the end?
Avengers: Endgame explained: Does Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster return?
Avengers: Endgame explained: Iron Man’s closing scene
Avengers: Endgame explained: Captain America’s closing scene