2018’s been an unbelievable year at the box office, and we’re just now approaching the halfway mark.
Granted, most of the damage done at the ticket booth this year can be attributed to Avengers: Infinity War, what with the Anthony and Joe Russo-directed blockbuster earning an unprecedented $250 million-plus stateside opening weekend, and subsequently becoming the fastest film to reach the $1 billion plateau as well. Not to mention the fact that the third Avengers instalment finally smashed through the $2 billion barrier earlier this week – a feat only ever achieved thrice before: Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.068B), Titanic ($2.187B) and Avatar ($2.788B).
Nevertheless, while it’s undeniably been the year of Thanos up until this point, another hotly-anticipated release is making some serious waves at the box office now: Incredibles 2. Although it was reported that the Brad Bird-directed superhero sequel could be headed for a $135M-$150M opening – a figure that would procure the largest ever debut for an animated feature, which is presently held by another Disney/Pixar joint: Finding Dory ($135M) – no one could’ve predicted that the Parr family would pack this significant a punch.
According to Collider, Incredibles 2 will haul in an estimated $180 million this weekend. Not only will the “record-smashing” number trounce Finding Dory and ipso facto “shatter the opening box office record for an animated film,” but the total could push the Parr family reunion into one of the top 10 debuts for any motion picture, ever.
Admittedly, it’s still early in the weekend, but given that Incredibles 2 has already set the opening night record for an animated film, garnering $18.5 million during Thursday previews, and – with critical acclaim already secure in the bag – having went on to become the “top animated pre-seller of all time,” at least according to managing editor of Fandango, Erik Davis, it would appear that the near decade and a half wait was well worth it.
