The universe belongs to Marvel. B次元官网网址淎vengers: EndgameB次元官网网址� shattered the record for biggest opening weekend with an estimated $350 million in ticket sales domestically and $1.2 billion globally, reaching a new pinnacle in the blockbuster era that the comic-book studio has come to dominate.
The B次元官网网址淎vengersB次元官网网址� finale far exceeded even its own gargantuan expectations, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie had been forecast to open between $260 million and $300 million in U.S. and Canadian theatres, but moviegoers turned out in such droves that B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� blew past the previous record of $257.7 million, set last year by B次元官网网址淎vengers: Infinity WarB次元官网网址� when it narrowly surpassed B次元官网网址淪tar Wars: The Force AwakensB次元官网网址� ($248 million or about $266 million in inflation adjusted dollars.)
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B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� was just as enormous overseas. Worldwide, it obliterated the previous record of $640.5 million, also set by B次元官网网址淚nfinity War.B次元官网网址� (B次元官网网址淚nfinity WarB次元官网网址� didnB次元官网网址檛 open in China, the worldB次元官网网址檚 second largest movie market, until two weeks after its debut.) B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� set a new weekend record in China, too, where it made $330.5 million.
In one fell swoop, B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� has already made more than movies like B次元官网网址淪kyfall,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址滱quamanB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Dark Knight RisesB次元官网网址� grossed in their entire runs, not accounting for inflation.
Alan Horn, Disney chairman, credited Marvel Studios and its president, Kevin Feige, for challenging B次元官网网址渘otions of what is possible at the movie theatre.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭his weekendB次元官网网址檚 monumental success is a testament to the world theyB次元官网网址檝e envisioned, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world,B次元官网网址� Horn said in a statement.
To accommodate demand, the Walt Disney Co. released B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� in more theatres B次元官网网址� 4,662 in the U.S. and Canada B次元官网网址� than any opening before. Advance ticketing services set new records. Early ticket buyers crashed AMCB次元官网网址檚 website. And starting Thursday, some theatres even stayed open 72 hours straight.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got some really tired staff,B次元官网网址� said John Fithian, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners. B次元官网网址淚 talked to an exhibitor in Kansas who said, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檝e never sold out a 7 a.m. show on Saturday morning before,B次元官网网址� and they were doing it all across their circuit.B次元官网网址�
Not working in the filmB次元官网网址檚 favour was its lengthy running time: 161 minutes. But theatres kept added thousands of showings for B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� to get it on more screens than any movie before to satiate the frenzy around B次元官网网址淓ndgame.B次元官网网址� Joe and Anthony RussoB次元官网网址檚 film ties together the B次元官网网址淎vengersB次元官网网址� storyline as well as the previous 21 releases of the Marvel B次元官网网址渃inematic universe,B次元官网网址� begun with 2008B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淚ron Man.B次元官网网址�
For an industry dogged by uncertainty over the growing role of streaming, the weekend was a mammoth display of the movie theatreB次元官网网址檚 lucrative potency. Fithian called it possibly B次元官网网址渢he most significant moment in the modern history of the movie business.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e looking at more than 30 million American and more than 100 million global guests that experienced B次元官网网址楨ndgameB次元官网网址� on the big screen in one weekend,B次元官网网址� Fithian said. B次元官网网址淭he numbers are just staggering.B次元官网网址�
Further boosting the results for B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� were good reviews; it currently ranks as 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the best rating for any Marvel movie aside from B次元官网网址淏lack Panther.B次元官网网址� Audiences gave the film an A-plus CinemaScore.
Single-handedly, B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� led the overall weekend at the domestic box office to a record $400 million in ticket sales, according to Comscore. B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� accounted for a staggering 88% of those tickets. The filmB次元官网网址檚 grosses were aided by 3-D screenings (a record $540 million in global ticket sales) and IMAX screenings (a company record $91.5 million).
B次元官网网址淥ur partners in exhibition have done a great job with us on this film. As they saw the need, they opened up screens,B次元官网网址� said Cathleen Taft, distribution chief for Disney. B次元官网网址淲hile there may have been a concern B次元官网网址� Is there going to be enough seats available? B次元官网网址� I think that exhibition met that demand and rose to the occasion.B次元官网网址�
But if there was any shadow to the weekend for the theatrical business, it was in just how reliant theatres have grown on one studio: Disney.
Disney now holds all but one of the top 12 box-office openings of all time. (UniversalB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淛urassic WorldB次元官网网址� is the lone exception.) The studio is poised for a record-breaking year, with releases including B次元官网网址淎laddin,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址漈oy Story 2,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址漈he Lion King,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址漇tar Wars: The Rise of SkywalkerB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淔rozen 2B次元官网网址� on the horizon.
Following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Disney is expected to account for at least 40% of domestic box-office revenue in 2019, a new record of market share. The companyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐aptain MarvelB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� positioned as a kind of Marvel lead-in to B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� also rose to No. 2 on the weekend, eight weeks after it opened.
But theatre owners regularly speak of a B次元官网网址渉alo effectB次元官网网址� around a movie like B次元官网网址淓ndgame.B次元官网网址� Such sensations draw in new moviegoers and expose millions to a barrage of movie trailers.
B次元官网网址淭his has got to be the biggest weekend in popcorn history,B次元官网网址� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. B次元官网网址淭hink of the gallons of soda and the hot dogs sold. This is going to continue all week and beyond. This is going to have long-term playability for sure.B次元官网网址�
An enormous hit was much needed for a box office that, coming into the weekend, was lagging 16% of the pace of last yearB次元官网网址檚 ticket sales, according to Comscore. B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� moved the needle to negative 13.3% but the boost was less significant since B次元官网网址淚nfinity WarB次元官网网址� opened on the same weekend in 2018.
No other new wide release dared to open against B次元官网网址淓ndgame.B次元官网网址� Warner Bros.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he Curse of La Llorona,B次元官网网址� last weekB次元官网网址檚 top movie, slid to third with $7.5 million.
The guessing game will now shift to just how much higher B次元官网网址淓ndgameB次元官网网址� can go. Given its start, itB次元官网网址檚 likely to rival the top three worldwide grossers: B次元官网网址淭he Force AwakensB次元官网网址� ($2.068 billion in 2015), B次元官网网址淭itanic ($2.187 billion in 1997) and B次元官网网址淎vatarB次元官网网址� ($2.788 in 2009).
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
1. B次元官网网址淎vengers: Endgame,B次元官网网址� $350 million ($859 million international).
2. B次元官网网址淐aptain Marvel,B次元官网网址� $8.1 million.
3. B次元官网网址淭he Curse of La Llorona,B次元官网网址� $7.5 million.
4. B次元官网网址淏reakthrough,B次元官网网址� $6.3 million.
5. B次元官网网址淪hazam!B次元官网网址� $5.5 million.
6. B次元官网网址淟ittle,B次元官网网址� $3.4 million.
7. B次元官网网址淒umbo,B次元官网网址� $3.2 million.
8. B次元官网网址淧et Sematary,B次元官网网址� $1.3 million.
9. B次元官网网址淯s,B次元官网网址� $1.1 million.
10. B次元官网网址淧enguins,B次元官网网址� $1.1 million.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
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