It goes without saying that Avengers: Endgame is going to be a huge movie. Story-wise, it’s the final chapter of both Phase 3 and this iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that began with Iron Man, and commercially, given how Avengers: Infinity War performed last year, it’s been expected that Endgame do just as well, if not better. Sure enough, current estimates place Endgame as making upwards of $200 million opening weekend.
If Avengers: Endgame debuts in the $200 million-$250 million domestic range that Variety reports, it would join Avengers: Infinity War as one of only six films to ever surpass $200 million in ticket sales during its first weekend. Currently Captain Marvel holds the record of best North American debut in 2019 with $153 million, but it’s practically guaranteed that Endgame will rocket past that amount. After all, people came out in droves (figuratively speaking) to buy tickets online, breaking records for both Fandango and Atom Tickets.
One thing that might affect Avengers: Endgame’s overall box office performance is runtime. The movie will be just over three hours long, making it the longest MCU entry yet. This long runtime means that theaters can’t hold as many screenings as they could if it was the standard two-two and a half hour runtime, meaning less butts will be put in seats. But that’s a minor nuisance at best. Marvel has proven itself several times over as a powerhouse franchise, meaning that it’s a given that a lot of people will be seeing this epic story on the big screen. Plus, as we’ve seen in the past with movies like Return of the King, long runtime doesn’t always hinder the box office haul, as the final entry of the Lord of the Rings trilogy walked away with over $1.1 billion at the end of its theatrical run.
That said, Avengers: Endgame still has a long road ahead if it wants to take the record for largest opening of all time domestically. That’s currently held by Avengers: Infinity War, which crushed initial predictions and gathered a monstrous $257 million during its first days in theaters, knocking Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its $247 million to second place. Perhaps Endgame will also soar past its initial box office estimates and make $260 million or more opening weekend stateside, which would be astounding. As far as the global launch goes, Endgame is expected to surpass Infinity War’s take, helped by the fact that it’s opening in China the same day. Put simply, we can reasonably assume that Endgame will become the eighth MCU movie to cross the $1 billion mark.
With the universe reeling from The Decimation, which saw Thanos wiping out half of all life, Avengers: Endgame will see the surviving MCU heroes gathering together and try to undo The Mad Titan’s genocide, which will require them to get their hands on the Infinity Stones. Beyond that, Marvel is still keeping a lot of plot details close to the chest, though there’s been no shortage of theories that time travel will factor into the tale. However this movie unfolds, Marvel doesn’t have to worry about gathering audiences to check it out.
Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. For now, you can find out what the future of the MCU looks like in our Marvel movies guide, or you can learn what other movies are coming out this year in our 2019 release schedule.
