Fans of Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ franchise assembled in full force for the opening night of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ making it the highest-grossing opening night ever, earning $60 million in the US and Canada, topping the previous record set by ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ which earned $57 million in 2015. Last year, ‘Infinity War’ generated $39 million on its opening night, but it went on to score the biggest weekend ever, with $258 million.
Theaters began offering showings beginning at 6 pm, one hour earlier than ‘Infinity War’s 7 pm start time. The theater I attended was ONLY showing ‘Endgame’ and offering showings every half-hour. Some were still going in at close to midnight.
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With its stellar opening night, it is now believed that ‘Endgame’ will top that weekend haul. Right now, analysts predict that ‘Endgame’ will make over $260 million domestically and $800 million globally, which would both be new records. Some are even eyeing it to make $300 million domestically, which may have sounded like a tall order, but with this opening night record, it looks a little more attainable. There is even chatter that it could cross the $1 billion mark by the end of the weekend, which would also set a new record. ‘Infinity War’ hit that milestone by the end of its second weekend.
The film has already made over $305 million worldwide, having opened a day earlier in some territories. In China, it also set a new record, with over $100 million in its first day. That is the second-largest film market in the world. The movie will not open in Russia until May. ‘Infinity War’ was also delayed in that market for some reason.
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Some theaters are staying open around the clock, including the AMC chain, which will keep 17 theaters open for 72 straight hours to allow fans to get their fix at any time, day or night.
It is also a rare tentpole blockbuster to equally delight critics, with it sitting at an excellent 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our reviewer, Tony Schaab gave it a perfect spoiler-free review, if you’d like to check that out.
As usual, we will have a full weekend box office report once the dust has settles. But place your bets now. How much do you think ‘Avengers: Endgame’ will generate in its opening weekend? Can it possibly hit the $1 billion mark?
Source: CNN
