Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are about to become Earth’s wealthiest heroes, if a new estimate from Deadline is any indication of how things will pan out when all is said and done.
Now that Avengers: Infinity War has been formally inducted into the billion-dollar club, we’re learning that the Marvel tentpole has emerged as the first summer movie ever to target $2 billion worldwide. As anyone with a decent knowledge of cinema will tell you, in all of box office history, only three releases have grossed higher than that. Those would be Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Whether it’ll actually reach that mark remains to be seen, of course, but Deadline has it finishing off at $1.88 billion right now, with the outlet noting that if it continues to perform well overseas in the coming weeks, it might just hit the aforementioned milestone. And thankfully for Marvel, Thanos’ rule over the box office in international territories won’t be ending anytime soon, as the next big releases coming down the pipeline – Deadpool 2 and Solo – are expected to be heavier hitters domestically than they are across the pond.
Of course, we also have to factor China into the equation. Infinity War has yet to open there – it’ll do so this weekend – and from what we understand, advance ticket sales for the Middle Kingdom are through the roof. That being said, Marvel has nowhere near the brand recognition over there that they do in the rest of the world, but the pic is still expected to perform fairly well in China over the coming weeks.
Speaking about the film’s blistering success, here’s what analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations had to share:
It’s all about timing for these box-office behemoths. Avengers: Infinity War is in a nifty spot right now, as it will certainly remain potent until after Memorial Day. That kind of long run is the only way it could eclipse Jurassic World as the top-grossing summer movie of all-time.
So, whether it hits $2 billion or falls just short of it, it’s clear that Avengers: Infinity War is destined for box office greatness and will no doubt finish off with a hefty sum of money under its belt. In fact, Deadline believes the total profit Marvel will see from the film will be about $600 million – a staggering amount. And with figures like that, you can bet that the MCU will be around for a long, long time to come.
