‘Avengers: Endgame’ Sets Opening Day Box Office Record With $156 Million Friday
“Avengers: Endgame” is shattering even the most wildly optimistic predictions for its opening weekend. After opening the widest release in box office history with 4,662 screens, the Marvel film has earned a stunning $156.7 million opening day total, according to Disney’s estimates. That’s 31% higher than the previous record of $119.1 million made in 2015 by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
This Friday total includes $60 million from Thursday night previews, which on its own set a new record for the highest gross ever recorded on a Thursday box office. The $156 million opening day total alone eclipses the entire domestic opening weekend of “Captain Marvel,” which clocked in at $153.4 million last month.
“Endgame” is also now the fastest film ever to gross $100 million domestically after just 17 hours of screenings. The previous record was set by “Avengers: Infinity War” last year at 21 hours.
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Prior to the weekend, analysts were saying that a $300 million opening was a solid possibility for “Endgame.” But an opening of $350 million is now within reach. Current estimates have the film posting a domestic opening of $345 million, beating the previous record held by “Avengers: Infinity War” of $257.6 million by a staggering 34%.
“Avengers: Endgame” has received praise from critics and worldwide acclaim from audiences, with both calling it a satisfying and moving finale to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 11-year saga. The film has a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ from CinemaScore audience polls. In China, the film has a 9.3/10 score on Maoyan, the highest ever for a superhero film on the site.
With records being broken in almost every market around the world this weekend — including China, where the film has already grossed $300 million through four days in theaters — “Avengers: Endgame” is set to become the first ever film to earn a global opening weekend of over $1 billion, making it the fastest film ever to hit that mark. Through Friday, the film has already grossed $647 million worldwide, and has already passed the $448 million overseas opening record set by “The Fate of the Furious” in 2017.
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It will also become the biggest opening weekend ever for IMAX, having already passed “The Force Awakens” $47 million record with a running total of $52 million through Friday.
In the coming weeks, “Avengers: Endgame” will become only the fifth film ever to gross $2 billion worldwide; and depending on how it does in later weeks against upcoming summer blockbusters, it could join the likes of “Avatar,” “The Ten Commandments,” “The Sound of Music” and “Gone With The Wind” in the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time after inflation adjustment.
Update 8:03 AM: Numbers updated with official estimates from Disney.
Read original story ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Sets Opening Day Box Office Record With $156 Million Friday At TheWrap
