At this rate, there’s really no stopping Avengers: Infinity War.
Currently simmering at 87 percent over on Rotten Tomatoes after 128 reviews – a score good enough to earn the coveted ‘Certified Fresh’ badge – the Marvel mega-movie features more big-name stars than the last 10 MCU films combined. And while it’s admittedly a little bloated in parts (our review), Joe and Anthony Russo deserve credit for serving up a superhero smackdown that is somehow – almost inexplicably – more than the sum of its parts.
Now, it’s time to crunch some numbers. On the eve of release, The Hollywood Reporter has relayed the latest box office projections for Avengers: Infinity War, which is now headed for a record $225M-plus opening in North America. That’s a middle-of-the-road estimate, according to THR, as some analysts believe the MCU’s biggest movie has a genuine shot of outstripping The Force Awakens ($248 million) to land the biggest domestic opening in box office history.
To date, only The Avengers ($207 million) and Black Panther ($202 million) have cracked the $200 million threshold in North America for Marvel Studios, and even they find themselves behind The Last Jedi ($220 million) and Universal’s Jurassic World revival, which collected a staggering $208.8 million in its opening weekend.
No matter which way you spin the numbers, though, Avengers: Infinity War is destined for greatness, and though it continues to trumpet the end of Marvel’s cinematic universe, this is a franchise that will only continue to go from strength to strength – both in 2019 and beyond, given those super-secret plans for Phase 4 of the MCU. And we’ll be with you every step of the way.