Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are about to become Earth’s wealthiest heroes, if a new estimate from The Hollywood Reporter is any indication.
Now that Avengers: Infinity War has been formally inducted into the billion-dollar club, we’re learning that the Marvel tentpole has emerged as the first summer movie ever to target $2 billion worldwide. As any film nerd will tell you, in all of box office history, only three releases have grossed higher than $2 billion: Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Moreover, Universal’s Jurassic World currently holds the crown as the top-grossing summer title of all time ($1.67 billion), not adjusted for inflation, so considering that Infinity War has already reached $1.16 billion in only 10 days, it’s looking increasingly likely that Colin Trevorrow’s dino flick will be forced to vacate the throne for Avengers: Infinity War.
As THR notes, the decision to bring Infinity War forward to April 27th in North America has paid dividends, as it’s opened up a three-week window in which the superhero smackdown can reign supreme, before the likes of Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story begin contesting for the box office crown later this month.
Overseas, Infinity War‘s record-setting opened weekend in Russia ($17.6M) has also contributed to this newfangled forecast. And that’s before we even factor China into the equation. The Middle Kingdom is expected to swing its doors open to the Marvel tentpole later this week, and box office experts predict another $100M-$200M bounty to add to the pot.
Analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations had this to say about Infinity War‘s blistering pace:
It’s all about timing for these box-office behemoths. Avengers: Infinity War is in a nifty spot right now, as it will certainly remain potent until after Memorial Day. That kind of long run is the only way it could eclipse Jurassic World as the top-grossing summer movie of all-time.
He continued:
Currently, Infinity War is outpacing Jurassic World by nearly $50 million — unadjusted for inflation — which means if it has a great hold next weekend, we could be looking at upwards of $700 million domestically, and maybe even $725 million. The domination of Disney is unparalleled in modern-day blockbuster cinema. If Walt [Disney] were alive today, he’d probably be holding hands with Stan Lee, instead of Mickey Mouse.
Avengers: Infinity War is destined for greatness, then, which isn’t all that surprising when you consider that it’s building on a cinematic legacy that first flickered into life back in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s original Iron Man movie. Oh, how far we’ve come…