Avengers: Infinity War To Blaze Past The Dark Knight After This Weekend’s Box Office

Even Batman is no match for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

As Marvel Studios battens down the hatches in preparation for Infinity War‘s third weekend, Box Office Pro (h/t Screen Rant) brings word that the sequel’s domestic gross is expected to blaze past The Dark Knight. For the record, Nolan’s comic book masterpiece notched $534M in North America 10 years ago – back when the MCU was but a distant dream – all without a 3D surplus.

Infinity War, meanwhile, is currently simmering at $479M domestic ($1.25 billion total), and will likely rake in an additional $58.5M this coming weekend in the States. That will surely be enough for Joe and Anthony Russo’s blockbuster to break the all-time top 10. Its next target? The Avengers, which scored an eye-watering $623M on home turf six years ago.

This projection comes just as Infinity War prepares for a big splash in China. Indeed, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the MCU juggernaut has already recorded around $47.5 million (RMB 302 million) in presales as of late Wednesday night in Beijing, which is twice that of the previous Hollywood record-holder: The Fate of the Furious ($25 million).

It’s undoubtedly a massive primer for what many believe to be the film’s last hurrah at the global box office, but the question remains: will Avengers: Infinity War best Age of Ultron‘s $240 million haul in the Middle Kingdom when it opens on May 11th? Box office analysts certainly think so, and given the film’s near-unprecedented momentum, we’re inclined to believe them.

We will, as always, keep you right up-to-date as the latest box office figures begin tumbling in, so stay tuned.