Could 'Avengers: Endgame' Global Box Office Have A $1 Billion Opening Weekend?
It's a no-brainer that Avengers: Endgame is going to be a box office giant when it hits theaters, starting with sold out sneak preview screenings tonight (and into the early morning). But now analysts are trying to figure out just how big it will be, and that includes considering the possibility of a $1 billion opening weekend at the global box office.
Deadline breaks down the possibilities for the Avengers Endgame global box office opening weekend reaching that milestone number. It helps that the Marvel Studios movie is opening in pretty much every territory around the world by the end of the weekend. The only holdout is Russi,a where the movie won't open until Monday, April 29,
Basically, in order for Avengers: Endgame to reach an unprecedented $1 billion opening weekend, the United States and China are the key players that would need numbers higher than projected so far.
As of now, expectations have the United States making anywhere between $260 million up to the less likely $300 million, the latter being a feat that no film has ever achieved for an opening weekend. With the film opening on a record 4,600 screens across the United States and Canada, it's not out of the realm of possibility, especially with some theaters staying open for 72 hours straight in order to meet fan demand.
Meanwhile, China's pre-sales have broken records just like the U.S., and analysts have the country bringing anywhere from $250 million to $280 million by the time the weekend is over. And with the film already landing a $107 million opening day, the outlook is good for a performance better than expected.
If both the United States and China can reach the higher end of those box office predictions, then we could be looking at the first-ever $1 billion opening weekend. In addition, it sounds like the film could even make around $1.5 billion in just the first 10 days.
As for the rest of the world, they're just as excited about the release of Avengers: Endgame. India sold a million tickets in a single day of pre-sales. The IMAX BFI theater in London only has a handful of seats left for the early morning screenings at 4am and 8am, and there are at least 175 midnight shows throughout the United Kingdom.
On top of that, following in the footsteps of AMC Theatres, many theaters are staying open much longer than usual. Some Vue Cinemas and Printsworks across the pond are showing the movie for 24-hours straight. Even in the Philippines, several shopping malls with multiplexes in them will be staying open 24 hours to accommodate the round-the-clock screenings.
Here's the breakdown of when and where Avengers: Endgame is opening from the middle of the week through the start of the weekend:
With all these countries combined, a $1 billion global opening weekend isn't out of the realm of possibility, but Disney and Marvel probably aren't going to count their chickens before they've hatched.