Can 'Infinity War' Rake in $2 Billion?
by EG
Avengers: Infinity War - Part I has already put $1 billion in its wallet, but the film has its sights set on $2 billion. Only three other movies have ever done that, but it looks like the Avengers have a shot at the milestone. It will have to hurry, though. Solo: A Star Wars Story debuts in just a few weeks, and that premiere is likely to take a lot of attention away from the Marvel heroes.
The tiny club of movies that have grossed $2 billion or more at the worldwide box office — Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to be exact — all opened over the year-end holidays, when many adults take time off from work and students of all ages are sprung from classes.
And all three films did huge carryover business in January, a relative dead zone in terms of major Hollywood releases. That's the reverse of the tentpole-soaked summer season, when the marquee is crowded with one sprawling sandcastle after another.
To date, Universal's Jurassic World is the top-grossing summer title of all time ($1.672 billion), not adjusted for inflation. However, the dinos are now in serious danger of losing the crown to Avengers: Infinity War, the record-breaking Disney and Marvel superhero mashup that is the first summer pic in history to have a shot at nearing, or crossing, $2 billion in global ticket sales after hitting $1.164 billion in its first dozen days.
Among the factors working in Avengers' favor was a last-minute decision to open the film a week early in North America on April 27, giving it three weekends of play with no competition from a rival May tentpole, unheard of in modern times. Summer's second big event title, Deadpool 2, doesn't hit theaters until May 18, followed by Solo: A Star Wars Story over Memorial Day weekend.
Originally, the Avengers threequel was set to open on May 4, the first "official" start of summer. But, hoping to minimize spoilers, Disney moved up the release to April 27, timed to Infinity War's international opening.
Infinity War crossed $1 billion at the global box office on Saturday, faster than any title in history. It achieved the milestone in 11 days, compared to 12 days for Force Awakens, from Disney. And in its second weekend, it earned an estimated $112.5 million domestically, the second-biggest sophomore outing behind Force Awakens ($149.1 million).
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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