{"id":211847,"date":"2019-04-29T00:29:30","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T04:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=211847"},"modified":"2019-04-29T00:29:30","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T04:29:30","slug":"avengers-endgame-obliterates-records-with-1-2b-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/04\/29\/avengers-endgame-obliterates-records-with-1-2b-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Avengers: Endgame’ obliterates records with $1.2B opening"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE: The cast and filmmakers of Marvel Studios\u2019 #AvengersEndgame assemble at last night\u2019s world premiere! (Photo<\/a>: @avengers\/Instagram<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 The universe belongs to Marvel. \u201cAvengers:\u00a0Endgame\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

The \u201cAvengers\u201d 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 \u201cEndgame\u201d blew past the previous record of $257.7 million, set last year by \u201cAvengers: Infinity War\u201d when it narrowly surpassed \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens\u201d ($248 million or about $266 million in inflation adjusted dollars.)<\/p>\n

\u201cEndgame\u201d was just as enormous overseas. Worldwide, it obliterated the previous record of $640.5 million, also set by \u201cInfinity War.\u201d (\u201cInfinity War\u201d didn’t open in China, the world’s second largest movie market, until two weeks after its debut.) \u201cEndgame\u201d set a new weekend record in China, too, where it made $330.5 million.<\/p>\n

In one fell swoop, \u201cEndgame\u201d has already made more than movies like \u201cSkyfall,\u201d \u201cAquaman\u201d and \u201cThe Dark Knight Rises\u201d grossed in their entire runs, not accounting for inflation.<\/p>\n

Alan Horn, Disney chairman, credited Marvel Studios and its president, Kevin Feige, for challenging \u201cnotions of what is possible at the movie theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world,\u201d Horn said in a statement.<\/p>\n

To accommodate demand, the Walt Disney Co. released \u201cEndgame\u201d in more theatres \u2014 4,662 in the U.S. and Canada \u2014 than any opening before. Advance ticketing services set new records. Early ticket buyers crashed AMC’s website. And starting Thursday, some theatres even stayed open 72 hours straight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve got some really tired staff,\u201d said John Fithian, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners. \u201cI talked to an exhibitor in Kansas who said, ‘I’ve never sold out a 7 a.m. show on Saturday morning before,’ and they were doing it all across their circuit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not working in the film’s favour was its lengthy running time: 181 minutes. But theatres kept added thousands of showings for \u201cEndgame\u201d to get it on more screens than any movie before to satiate the frenzy around \u201cEndgame.\u201d Joe and Anthony Russo’s film ties together the \u201cAvengers\u201d storyline as well as the previous 21 releases of the Marvel \u201ccinematic universe,\u201d begun with 2008’s \u201cIron Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

For an industry dogged by uncertainty over the growing role of streaming, the weekend was a mammoth display of the movie theatre’s lucrative potency. Fithian called it possibly \u201cthe most significant moment in the modern history of the movie business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re looking at more than 30 million American and more than 100 million global guests that experienced ‘Endgame’ on the big screen in one weekend,\u201d Fithian said. \u201cThe numbers are just staggering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further boosting the results for \u201cEndgame\u201d were good reviews; it currently ranks as 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the best rating for any Marvel movie aside from \u201cBlack Panther.\u201d Audiences gave the film an A-plus CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

Single-handedly, \u201cEndgame\u201d led the overall weekend at the domestic box office to a record $400 million in ticket sales, according to Comscore. \u201cEndgame\u201d accounted for a staggering 88% of those tickets. The film’s grosses were aided by 3-D screenings (a record $540 million in global ticket sales) and IMAX screenings (a company record $91.5 million).<\/p>\n

\u201cOur partners in exhibition have done a great job with us on this film. As they saw the need, they opened up screens,\u201d said Cathleen Taft, distribution chief for Disney. \u201cWhile there may have been a concern \u2014 Is there going to be enough seats available? \u2014 I think that exhibition met that demand and rose to the occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Disney now holds all but one of the top 12 box-office openings of all time. (Universal’s \u201cJurassic World\u201d is the lone exception.) The studio is poised for a record-breaking year, with releases including \u201cAladdin,\u201d \u201cToy Story 4,\u201d \u201cThe Lion King,\u201d \u201cStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker\u201d and \u201cFrozen 2\u201d on the horizon.<\/p>\n

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 company’s \u201cCaptain Marvel\u201d \u2014 positioned as a kind of Marvel lead-in to \u201cEndgame\u201d \u2014 also rose to No. 2 on the weekend, eight weeks after it opened. (The 22 films of Marvel’s \u201ccinematic universe\u201d have collectively earned $19.9 billion at the box office.)<\/p>\n

Yet theatre owners regularly speak of a \u201chalo effect\u201d around a movie like \u201cEndgame.\u201d Such sensations draw in new moviegoers and expose millions to a barrage of movie trailers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has got to be the biggest weekend in popcorn history,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. \u201cThink 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

An enormous hit was much needed for a box office that, coming into the weekend, was lagging 16% of the pace of last year’s ticket sales, according to Comscore. \u201cEndgame\u201d moved the needle to negative 13.3% but the boost was less significant since \u201cInfinity War\u201d opened on the same weekend in 2018.<\/p>\n

No other new wide release dared to open against \u201cEndgame.\u201d Warner Bros.’ \u201cThe Curse of La Llorona,\u201d last week’s top movie, slid to third with $7.5 million.<\/p>\n

The guessing game will now shift to just how much higher \u201cEndgame\u201d can go. Given its start, it’s likely to rival the top three worldwide grossers: \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d ($2.068 billion in 2015), \u201cTitanic ($2.187 billion in 1997) and \u201cAvatar\u201d ($2.788 in 2009).<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cAvengers:\u00a0Endgame,\u201d $350 million ($859 million international).<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cCaptain Marvel,\u201d $8.1 million.<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cThe Curse of La Llorona,\u201d $7.5 million.<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cBreakthrough,\u201d $6.3 million.<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cShazam!\u201d $5.5 million.<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cLittle,\u201d $3.4 million.<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cDumbo,\u201d $3.2 million.<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cPet Sematary,\u201d $1.3 million.<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cUs,\u201d $1.1 million.<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cPenguins,\u201d $1.1 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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