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 "Avengers: Infinity War" took North America by storm, opening
with $250 million in 4,474 theaters. While numbers could
fluctuate before an official tally comes in on Monday, that
would surpass "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" for the biggest
domestic opening weekend of all time. "The Force Awakens" bowed
with $248 million in 2015.
The superhero tentpole, which cost between $300 million and $400
million, opened worldwide with $630 million, making it the
highest global opening weekend of all time, even without China
debuting this weekend.
"It is an extraordinary weekend for the movie business and for
the Marvel Cinematic Universe," Dave Hollis, head of domestic
distribution at Disney, said. "'Infinity War' was the
culmination of 10 years of developing the universe and
characters that people care about. Having them all come together
in this was what created a must-see moviegoing event."
Prior to "Infinity War," the original "Avengers" had the highest
opening to date for a Marvel film, debuting with $207.4 million.
Its sequel, "Age of Ultron," launched with $191 million. The
first movie earned $623 million in North America, while the
second made $459 million.
Joe and Anthony Russo directed from a script by Christopher
Markus and Stephen McFeely. "Infinity War" picks up two years
after the events of "Captain America: Civil War" with the
Avengers teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop the
evil Thanos (Josh Brolin) from inter-galactic dominance.
The heroic ensemble cast includes Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man,
Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Chris Evans' Captain America, Scarlett
Johansson's Black Widow, Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther, Chris
Pratt's Star Lord, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, and
Mark Ruffalo's Hulk.
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With no other films opening in wide release in the wake of "Infinity
War," Paramount Pictures' "A Quiet Place" secured second place with
$10.6 million in 3,565 locations. The thriller -- directed by John
Krasinski and co-starring Krasinski and Emily Blunt -- continues its
impressive run with a domestic total of $148 million in four weeks.
Due to the film's monster success, Paramount's head Jim Gianopulos
announced a sequel was in the works.
In third place, STX's "I Feel Pretty" scored $8 million from 3,440
theaters in its second weekend. That brings the North American tally
on Amy Schumer's latest comedy to $29 million. Meanwhile, Dwayne
Johnson's "Rampage" dropped down to the fourth slot, earning $7.1
million in 3,508 locations. The Warner Bros. actioner has made $77.9
million domestically in its three weeks of release.
Rounding out the weekend is another Marvel title, "Black Panther."
In its 11th weekend, the tentpole made $4.6 million, bringing its
domestic total to $688 million. Globally, "Black Panther" has
collected $1.3 billion. With "Infinity War's" massive debut,
Marvel's 19 titles have collectively grossed $15 billion worldwide.
"Infinity War" has ignited a spark in the box office. Prior to this
weekend, the year to date box office was down 2.8 percent. After
this weekend, the 2018 box office is up 3.2 percent compared to
2017, according to comScore.
"'Avengers: Infinity War' demonstrated yet another Marvel superhero
power," Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst at comScore, said. "The
ability to reverse a downtrending box office year with a single
knockout punch and literally change the box office fortunes of
Hollywood almost overnight."
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