Avengers: Infinity War will be the clear winner at the box office this weekend, and its second weekend haul may set a new record for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There was no question the epic crossover would be one of 2018’s biggest films, but somehow, Infinity War managed to exceed commercial expectations. During its first three days, Infinity War earned a whopping $257.6 million, capitalizing on the intense hype and positive word-of-mouth to become a bona fide cinematic event. It keeps setting new all-time records in the early part of its run, so many are curious to see just how high the film will go.
This month sees the arrivals of two anticipated tentpoles in the form of Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story, but Infinity War still has a two-week cushion before it has to deal with its high-profile competition. With only a handful of niche offerings brave enough to stand in their path, Earth’s Mightiest has a golden opportunity to pad their totals. Unsurprisingly, Infinity War should end up with one of the biggest second weekends ever.
Per Box Office Pro, the latest Avengers film is projected to earn $111 million this weekend, though they note the haul could be as large as $128 million. The low end of those estimates would be enough to tie Black Panther’s second weekend ($111.6 million), which was the second-largest in history. However, it does not appear Infinity War will top The Force Awakens’ second weekend haul of $149.2 million. Of course, some believed the all-time opening weekend record was safe from Thanos’ wrath, so it’s plausible Infinity War continues to surpass the projections.
At its current tracking, Infinity War is expected to be up to at least $444.6 million in the U.S. by the end of the weekend. This would have it approaching the #15 position on the all-time domestic charts (The Dark Knight Rises; $448.1 million) after just 10 days in theaters. Of course, Infinity War is just going to move higher on that list as time goes on, possibly passing the $689.2 million posted so far by Black Panther. It’ll be interesting to see if it can unseat Avatar ($760.5 million) from second place, considering both Deadpool 2 and Solo will be taking away screens and appealing to similar demographics. Today, it was revealed Solo may set its own records over the Memorial Day frame, so Infinity War may not become the biggest movie in history by virtue of its release date. Avatar and The Force Awakens debuted in December and then feasted on a weak crop of January challengers.
The other films this weekend are left fighting for scraps, so there are some possibilities for counter-programming successes. Chief among those look to be the Overboard remake, which is estimated to bring in $14 million over its first three days. It looks like a solid option for the date night crowd looking for a reprieve from tentpole fare. This week’s other notable wide release, Jason Reitman’s Tully is only projected for $3.9 million despite largely positive reviews that praise Charlize Theron’s performance as an overwhelmed mother.
MORE: Can Infinity War Out-Gross Black Panther?
Source: Box Office Pro
- Avengers: Infinity War Release Date: 2018-04-27 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26 Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 spider-man homecoming 2 Release Date: 2019-07-02