There was no doubt that Avengers: Infinity War was going to be a smash hit at the box office, but its first few days in theaters have been even bigger than many imagined. With a $250 million debut, Infinity War has surpassed Star Wars: The Force Awakens to claim the biggest opening weekend in history, and domestically it’s already outgrossed the total domestic box office for six other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

Serving as the culmination of ten years’ worth of storytelling and world-building in previous MCU movies, Infinity War finally brings the Avengers into direct conflict with cosmic supervillain Thanos, who plans to collect all six Infinity Stones and use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe. The movie not only features most of the Avengers and some of their sidekicks, but also bands them together with the Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s easily the biggest superhero event movie we’ve ever seen, and fans have been flocking to the theaters.

Per Box Office Mojo, Avengers: Infinity War’s $250 million opening weekend has already surpassed the total domestic grosses for The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger, Ant-Man, Thor, Thor: The Dark World and Doctor Strange. Next up is Captain America: The Winter Solder, which grossed $259 million domestically, so Infinity War should overtake that (and several other movies) by the end of Monday. Worldwide, Infinity War has grossed a staggering $630 million - and it hasn’t even released in China yet.

Marvel is having a great year so far. Black Panther, the first MCU release of 2018, grossed a staggering $1.33 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing superhero movie of all time domestically. However, once Infinity War has finished its theatrical run Black Panther will almost certainly have to settle for merely being the highest-grossing solo superhero movie of all time.

Also releasing this year is Ant-Man and the Wasp, which looks to be considerably more low-key than the year’s other two MCU movies, if the first Ant-Man’s box office is anything to go by. However, Ant-Man and the Wasp could well benefit from being a smaller movie in the wake of such a massive, epic team-up. Rather than having to pay off and set up lots of other movies, it so far looks like a pretty self-contained adventure filled with a mix of action and comedy, which will be just what Marvel fans need to unwind after the high stakes and emotional turmoil of Infinity War. If Ant-Man’s sequel can outperform its predecessor, this could be Marvel Studios’ best year yet.

More: Avengers: Infinity War Earns Second-Largest Opening Day Gross Ever

Source: Box Office Mojo

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