Avengers: Infinity War Shatters Opening Weekend Box Office Records

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Avengers: Infinity War has completely rewritten the history books, setting new all-time domestic and worldwide opening weekend records. Over the past decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has established itself as one of Hollywood’s premier franchises, with the films collectively earning in excess of $15 billion globally. With Infinity War uniting all corners of the MCU in the long-awaited fight against Thanos, it went without saying Marvel’s mega crossover event was going to be one of the biggest films of 2018. The last time a cinematic event of this magnitude came about was 2015’s The Force Awakens, which broke several records throughout its run. Many wondered how big Infinity War could go.

The film got off to a massive start, earning $39 million just from Thursday night preview screenings en route to the second-largest opening day gross of all-time. There were those (including us) who felt that despite the hype, Infinity War would fall short of breaking records, but once again (after Black Panther exceeded expectations), Marvel proved people wrong. At the end of the weekend, the MCU is the new box office king.

Per Box Office Mojo, Avengers: Infinity War grossed a whopping $250 million domestically in its first three days, which clears The Force Awakens’ debut ($247.9 million) by just over $2 million. More impressively, Infinity War completely annihilated Fate of the Furious’ worldwide opening record ($541.9 million) by posting $630 million globally. The fact the film was able to accomplish that without the benefit of China (it opens there May 11) is absolutely shocking and underscores just how much of a monster Infinity War is.

Already in the black based on the box office figures, it’ll be very interesting to see how high Infinity War’s ends up. As far as its legs, it should be in excellent shape. Infinity War is another MCU film to earn the Certified Fresh seal of approval and has gone over well with fans, meaning it should definitely do excellent repeat business. Other studios were smart about planning out their release schedules, as Infinity War essentially has the marketplace to itself for a few weeks before Deadpool 2 opens to attract the same demographic. Smaller works like Tully and Life of the Party should find their respective niches, but will be no match for Infinity War. Black Panther ($688 million) seems like a solid benchmark for Infinity War to pass.

Speaking of Black Panther, Marvel had such a phenomenal weekend, the MCU ended up with two films in the top five this weekend. While Infinity War arrived in grand fashion, Panther came in fifth place with $4.3 million. This was always going to be a banner year for Marvel Studios (it being their 10th anniversary), and it will go down as perhaps their most successful in their prolonged hot streak.