Credit: Marvel The opening weekend has gone exceedingly well for “Avengers: Endgame.” After making box office history last Thursday night with the highest preview night earnings ever recorded in American history at $60 million, the film’s record breaking streak continues.
It’s official, the blockbuster hit from Marvel Studios made movie history with an astonishing $1.2 Billion global debut in its opening weekend. This marks the first time in history a film has surpassed the $1 billion mark on its opening weekend. Until “Avengers: Endgame,” the fastest a movie has ever reached $1 billion was “Avengers: Infinity War,” which held the record for reaching that mark in only 11 days.
Within this large record were a host of smaller records, which included a $350 million domestic debut and an $859 million international debut. Additionally, “Avengers: Endgame” set a record in China as well with a $330.5 million opening.
The $350 million domestic debut blew past the earnings of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which brought in $248 million in 2015 and the North American record of $257.7 million achieved by “Avengers: Infinity War,” last year. This record-shattering weekend is even more impressive on the international side as the previous international debut recorded ‘Fate of the Furious’ as the highest international opening at $443 million, approximately 1/2 the total of “Avengers: Endgame.”
“Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios team have continued to challenge notions of what is possible at the movie theatre both in terms of storytelling and at the box office,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “Though ‘Endgame’ is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this 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.”
“From the very beginning with ‘Iron Man,’ all we’ve wanted to do was tell stories that brought these characters to life onscreen the way we’ve experienced them as fans of the comics,” said Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios. “That we’ve had so many other successes in this journey leading to this unbelievable result with ‘Avengers: Endgame’ has been almost entirely due to the fans around the world who have supported us through it all. Our directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, and our writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, really brought this story home, and I am also incredibly thankful for our cast and filmmakers from across the MCU and all who’ve worked so hard to make these films the best they can be, including the amazing teams at Marvel Studios and Disney. And of course, without Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, none of this would have been possible.”
In a recent interview with the film’s directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, they said “We poured our heart and soul into ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ hoping to tell a story that would inspire audiences around the world. Our family of cast and crew felt honored to be entrusted with bringing the Infinity Saga to a close. To Kevin Feige, everyone at Disney and Marvel, and the incredible, global community of fans – thank you.”
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our ‘Avengers: Endgame’ giveaway!
How long do you think this record will last? Do you think “Star Wars: Episode IX,” “Toy Story 4,” “Frozen 2” or “Lion King” have a chance to match this record-shattering debut? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Walt Disney Studios