Avengers: Endgame Assembles a Global Cultural Event for Unprecedented $357 Million Domestic, $1.2 Billion Global Debut

Image courtesy: The Walt Disney Co.

Final Weekend Update: Actuals for Avengers: Endgame finalized at $357,115,007 for the domestic weekend. Overseas, figures reached $866.5 million — totaling for a record-crushing $1.2236 billion global opening through Sunday.

Further analysis below.

Sunday Update: Marvel Studios, mastermind Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers, and thousands of artists and fans have delivered a once-in-a-lifetime, mono-cultural epic on a global scale.

As of Sunday morning, Disney is projecting a $1.209 billion worldwide debut for Avengers: Endgame, setting multiple global records as it’s become the first film in history to open north of the $1 billion mark. The film achieved that feat in only five days. This bests Infinity War‘s previous global debut record of $640 million (which excluded China), and that film reached $1 billion in 11 days.

Following Captain Marvel, this is the MCU’s second billion-dollar release of 2019 and their eighth overall.

Further analysis of domestic and opening records (some of which are still in flux until actuals are available tomorrow) are below in today’s and yesterday’s updates, in addition to our earlier weekend forecast report and today’s domestic studio estimates, and Disney’s official press release on the historic opening.

Domestic

In North America, Endgame is estimated at $350 million for the weekend, which would top Infinity War‘s previous record by almost 36 percent. This includes Thursday night’s record $60 million pre-shows, Friday’s single day record $156.7 million, and record Saturday and Sunday estimates of $109 million (topping Infinity‘s $82.1 million, also marking the #3 single day ever) and $84.3 million (topping Infinity‘s $69.2 million), respectively. The film is playing in a record wide release of 4,662 theaters.

Saturday’s take was the first time in domestic history that a film has earned more than $100 million in a single day without the aid of preview grosses.

The film earned an estimated $75,075 per theater in 4,662 North America theaters, topping Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ previous $59,982 record at 4,134 locations in December 2015. Infinity War earned $57,599 per theater at 4,474 locations last year.

Endgame‘s per-theater average this weekend also bests the inflation-adjusted average of Return of the Jedi ($66,439) in its 1,002-theater debut 36 years ago. Jediearned $22,973 per location in original 1983 currency.

Audience breakdowns for Endgameare as follows:

  • 57 percent male / 43 percent female
  • 71 percent adults / 18 percent families / 11 percent teens
  • 7 percent 11 & under / 10 percent 12-16 / 22 percent 17-24 / 28 percent 25-34 / 22 percent 35-49 / 11 percent 50+
  • 80 percent of box office earned from 2D (67 percent traditional / 8 percent PLF 2D / 5 percent IMAX 2D)
  • 20 percent of box office earned 3D (15 percent traditional 3D / 3 percent PLF 3D / 2 percent IMAX 3D)

In just five days, China has generated $330.5 million, representing the highest debut of all time for a local or Western film. That total already makes Endgame the fourth-highest grossing Western film ever in China. Opening day ($107.8 million, including midnights) was the biggest of all time, and Saturday ($81.7 million) was the biggest single day ever (local or Western, excluding midnights).

International

Endgame‘s overall international start registers an estimated $859 million for the biggest overseas debut in history, besting Fate of the Furious ($443.15 million) by a staggering 94 percent. It also tops Infinity War‘s entire $640 million global debut, although that excluded China.

Furthermore, Endgame posted new opening weekend records in 44 of its 54 open markets, as well as 29 single-day records in various markets.

Marvel Studios now claims the two best global openings in history, six of the top ten domestically, and two of the top three overseas.

Endgame pushes the cumulative Marvel Cinematic Universe global box office haul to $19.9 billion across 22 films over 11 years.

Russia (May 29) remains the only territory not to open yet.

RealD also reports that 45 percent of global ticket sales came from the 3D format.

International gross breakdowns are further down in this report.

IMAX

IMAX generated a record $91.5 million global opening record, besting Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($47.6 million) by 92 percent. New IMAX weekend records were set in 50 markets, including China, France, Germany, and many others.

Endgame‘s North American $26.5 million gross from 412 screens in IMAX tops Infinity War‘s opening weekend in the format by 14 percent, while coming in just behind Force Awakens‘ standing record debut.

In China, Endgame‘s $42.4 million on 609 IMAX screens through five days bests The Wandering Earth‘s record by 66 percent. The five-day start has already surpassed Infinity War‘s entire IMAX China run of $41.2 million.

Notes from IMAX

  • Domestic

    • 8 of the top 10 theatres (and 21 of Top 25) were IMAX
    • Per screen Average of US$64K
    • Biggest IMAX Marvel Opening Weekend; 2nd Biggest All-Time IMAX Opening Weekend (behind Force Awakens)
  • China
    • 9 of the top 10 theatres (and 45 of the Top 50) were IMAX
    • IMAX recorded PSA’s of US$69.5K, the highest ever recorded in China
    • Biggest IMAX Opening Day; Biggest IMAX 3-day opening; Biggest IMAX opening week
  • International
    • IMAX set new opening weekend records in the following 50 markets: China, UAE, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Czech, Lebanon, Latvia, Norway, Nigeria, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Mongolia, Cambodia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Puerto Rico.

Avengers: Endgame

IMAX Cumes

Global:

$91,466,586

Domestic:

$26,503,047

Int’l ex China:

$22,563,539

China:

$42,400,000

Overseas Notes from Disney

  • Highest all-time industry grossing opening weekend in:

    • Asia-Pacific:  Australia, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and New Zealand.  Highest all-time industry opening weekend across the region at an estimated $545M, surpassing the previous record held by Avengers: Infinity War ($340M).
    • Latin America:  Every single market:  Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Uruguay.  Highest all-time industry opening weekend across the region at an estimated $100M, surpassing the previous record held by Avengers: Infinity War ($74M).
    • Europe/Middle East:  France (adms, non-local), Italy (non-local), Spain, UK/Ireland, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia/Herz, Croatia, Czech Rep, Denmark, East Africa, Egypt, Hungary, Iceland, Jordan, Middle East (as a whole), Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, S. Africa, Syria, Turkey (non-local), U.A.E, Ukraine, West Africa.  Highest all-time industry opening weekend across the region at an estimated $214M, surpassing the previous record held by Star Wars: TFA ($172M).
    • Avengers: Endgame set the following records in China:  Highest opening day of all-time (incl. midnights), highest opening (3 day) of all-time, highest single grossing day of all-time, fastest film to ever reach Rmb2Bn.
    • UK/Ireland’s opening weekend record replaced Spectre, which had a 7-day opening weekend in holidays.
  • Highest all-time industry grossing single day

    • Asia-Pacific: Australia, China, Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, India (western) and Vietnam.
    • Latin America: Every single market:  Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Uruguay.
    • Europe/Middle East:  Spain, UK/Ireland, Hungary, Ukraine.
  • Other highlights
    • Highest all-time western opening weekend in India.
    • Highest MCU opening weekend in Japan.
    • Already the second biggest industry release ever in the Philippines, with just opening weekend. 
    • Already the third biggest western release in India, with just opening weekend.
    • 2nd highest opening weekend in industry history in Germany behind only Star Wars: TFA
    • #1 opening in all territories.

International Cumes

China

$330.5M

UK

$53.8M

Korea

$47.4M

Mexico

$33.1M

Australia

$30.8M

Germany

$26.9M

India

$26.7M

Brazil

$26.0M

France

$24.2M

Italy

$19.0M

Philippines

$17.9M

Thailand

$14.3M

Indonesia

$14.1M

Spain

$13.3M

Japan

$13.0M

Hong Kong

$12.5M

Taiwan

$12.3M


Saturday Update: Marvel Studios, mastermind Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers, and thousands of artists and fans have delivered a once-in-a-lifetime, mono-cultural epic on a global scale.

Disney reports this morning that Avengers: Endgame is shattering every record in the book with $156.7 million domestic opening day (including Thursday night), topping Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ previous single and opening day records of $119.1 million by nearly 32 percent, as well as Avengers: Infinity War‘s own $106.34 million first day by over 47 percent.

Globally, Endgame has amassed a staggering $643.7 million through Friday — already surpassing the previous record for the highest opening weekend globally of all-time, owned previously by Infinity War ($641 million).

Endgame‘s overseas total stands at $487.0 million through Friday, also breaking the international opening weekend record last held by The Fate of the Furious ($443 million).

The aforementioned overseas figures include China’s earnings through Friday, where the Marvel epic stands at $217 million total since debuting locally earlier in the week. That represents the highest-earning three-day start of all-time in China, and it also surpasses the entire opening weekend of Infinity War ($201 million) with Saturday and Sunday still to be counted in the Middle Kingdom.

Endgame has opened in first place in all markets.

Not included in the figures just mentioned, Disney’s flash estimates out of China for Saturday land around $82.4 million, representing the highest single day gross in industry history (both locally and foreign, excluding North America). The four-day estimated total is $300.3 million, which would make Endgame the fastest film in history to reach $300 million in China.

Weekend Projections

Disney itself is projecting a $310-340 million domestic weekend, shattering Infinity War‘s $257.7 million standing record. However, our internal models indicate Endgame is performing close enough to past Marvel trends to suggest even that range is likely to be conservative at this stage.

Endgame earned 2.61x its Thursday showing for a true Friday gross of $96.7 million. Based on relative comps and this film’s reports of continued sellouts through Sunday evening, we believe matinee business throughout the weekend will be strong enough to help the Marvel phenom deliver a domestic debut between $350 million and $375 million.

Globally, $1 billion+ through Sunday looks all but certain, with some of our models projecting closer to $1.2 billion.

Domestic Records

Records will continue to fall throughout the weekend (and likely beyond), but here’s an early rundown of some key records Endgame has already established domestically:

  • Thursday Night Previews ($60 million, besting Force Awakens‘ $57 million)
  • Single & Opening Day ($156.7 million, besting Force Awakens‘ $119.1 million
  • Fastest to $100 million (17 hours, besting Force‘s 21 hours)
  • Fastest to $150 million (1 day, besting Infinity War‘s 2 days)

Additionally, the Saturday record (Infinity War‘s $82.1 million), Sunday record ($69.2 million), top opening weekend theater average (Force‘s $59,982), biggest market weekend overall ($305.6 million when Force debuted), biggest market weekend overall adjusted for inflation ($318.2 million when The Dark Knight opened), and the biggest opening weekend gap between first and second place ($246.7 million when Infinity opened), are all set to fall — among many others.

Should our $350 million+ projection hold, that would represent an increase of at least 36% from Infinity‘s previous record weekend. By comparison, Force ($247.97 million) increased 19 percent from Jurassic World‘s previous record ($208.8 million), following Avengers‘ ($207.4 million) 23 percent increase from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($169.2 million). Endgame would mark the largest weekend record increase percentage-wise since Spider-Man ($114.8 million) jumped 27 percent from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ($90.3 million) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($72.1 million) increased 36.55 percent from Batman Forever ($52.8 million).

The all-time record for percentage increases from a prior weekend benchmark belongs to Return of the Jedi‘s $23 million at 1,002 locations in 1983, 60.3 percent jump from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan‘s $14.35 million at 1,621 one year earlier. Using today’s ticket prices, those figures adjust to approximately $66 million and $44 million, respectively.

On a per-theater basis, Endgame could end up averaging $75,000 domestically. That would best Return of the Jedi‘s inflation-adjusted record of approximately $66,000 per theater when it opened 3

IMAX

Endgame has tallied $52.1 million from global IMAX venues alone through Friday, already topping Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ previous record ($47.6 million) with the remainder of the weekend ahead.

Domestic accounted for $12 million on Friday (including Thursday night) for a 20 percent increase over Infinity War‘s first Friday.

The film is also China’s biggest IMAX debut ever through Thursday with a three-day haul of $28.2 million, including $7.6 million on Friday. This surpasses The Wandering Earth‘s six-day opening weekend IMAX record of $25.5 million while also eclipsing Infinity War‘s $26.9 million opening week. The previous IMAX three-day weekend record was held by Infinity War at $20.3 million.

Other International Highlights

Endgame has so far registered all-time single day records in China (incl. midnights), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Korea (admissions), UK, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Egypt, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad, Ecuador, Uruguay, South Africa and UAE. It has also registered the highest all-time industry opening day in Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Bosnia/Herz, Czech Rep, Serbia (non-local), Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, East Africa and West Africa. Every market saw openings above those Avengers: Infinity War when opening on the same day.

Running international cumes:

Territories

GBO

   

China

$217.4M

UK

$27.0M

Korea

$23.0M

Australia

$19.7M

Germany

$15.2M

France

$13.5M

Italy

$13.4M

Brazil

$12.5M

Mexico

$12.5M

Philippines

$10.0M

India

$9.0M

Indonesia

$7.7M

Hong Kong

$7.1M

Other

$99.0M

   

Total

$487.0M

All domestic weekend estimates (updates to follow on Sunday):

Early Weekend Estimates (Domestic)
FRI, APR. 26 – SUN, APR. 28

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Avengers: Endgame $370,000,000 4,662 $79,365 $370,000,000 1 Disney
2 Captain Marvel $8,400,000 -8% 2,435 -218 $3,450 $413,929,047 8 Disney
3 The Curse of La Llorona $7,800,000 -70% 3,372 0 $2,313 $41,584,301 2 Warner Bros. / New Line
4 Breakthrough $6,400,000 -43% 2,913 149 $2,197 $26,210,230 2 20th Century Fox
5 Shazam! $6,000,000 -64% 3,631 -552 $1,652 $131,629,727 4 Warner Bros.
6 Dumbo $4,000,000 -40% 2,380 -845 $1,681 $107,766,558 5 Walt Disney Pictures
7 Little (2019) $3,500,000 -58% 2,119 -548 $1,652 $35,909,255 3 Universal Pictures
8 Penguins $1,600,000 -30% 1,815 0 $882 $6,270,426 2 Disney / Disneynature
9 Pet Sematary $1,300,000 -73% 1,655 -1491 $785 $52,622,457 4 Paramount Pictures
10 Us (2019) $1,300,000 -69% 1,255 -1009 $1,036 $173,003,635 6 Universal Pictures
11 Missing Link $1,000,000 -76% 1,588 -1849 $630 $15,455,055 3 United Artists Releasing

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Amazing Grace $525,000 -13% 243 53 $2,160 $2,150,941 4 Neon
2 After (2019) $485,000 -80% 607 -1531 $799 $11,730,739 3 Aviron Pictures
3 Kalank $360,000 -72% 283 -37 $1,272 $2,563,885 2 FIP
4 Hellboy $335,000 -92% 927 -2376 $361 $21,513,833 3 Lionsgate / Summit
5 The Mustang $300,000 -42% 277 -210 $1,083 $4,550,750 7 Focus Features
6 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World $260,000 -68% 282 -780 $922 $159,711,660 13 Universal / DreamWorks Animation
7 Wonder Park $200,000 -57% 249 -456 $803 $45,023,992 7 Paramount
8 Five Feet Apart $150,000 -75% 259 -450 $579 $45,405,478 7 CBS Films
9 Unplanned $125,000 -79% 251 -588 $498 $17,728,325 5 Pure Flix
10 The Best of Enemies $110,000 -82% 227 -775 $485 $9,993,456 4 STX Entertainment

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral $35,000 -76% 77 -119 $455 $73,072,460 9 Lionsgate
2 No Manches Frida 2 $32,000 -59% 56 -17 $571 $9,245,726 7 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films
3 The Aftermath $19,500 -61% 27 -58 $722 $1,608,892 7 Fox Searchlight

Friday Update #2: Disney is reporting around 12pm Pacific today that Avengers: Endgame looks to be on course for a domestic estimate of “$140 million+” for its opening day, inclusive of Thursday night’s previews. This would set a new single day record for the industry, besting Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ first day take of $119.1 million on December 18, 2015.

The studio is “cautiously” projecting a domestic weekend “in the $300 million range.”

Should the $140 million estimate hold (or close to it), that would represent a 2.33x multiplier from Thursday night. By comparison, Infinity War earned 2.73x its Thursday night gross for a $106.335 million opening day last year. While Endgame is looking slightly more front-loaded, that was to be expected with unprecedented pre-sales activity. Plus, Marvel films have historically proven to hold up very well with Saturday and Sunday matinees.

Based on our pre-release models and comparison points, a debut close to our high-end forecast range ($320 million) looks increasingly achievable at this early stage in the weekend.

More to follow as updates roll in…


Friday Report: Disney reports this morning that Avengers: Endgame took in a record $60 million in Thursday night earnings domestically, overtaking the previous record of $57 million held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This also bests the $39 million of last year’s Avengers: Infinity War by a 54 percent margin, providing an early signal that this weekend is not only in store for a record performance, but perhaps one of monumental significance. Check our our full analysis here.

Overseas, the Infinity Saga’s epic finale has opened in 46 markets through Thursday and earned a staggering $305 million in its first two days. China leads the charge with $154.5 million through two days thus far, followed by the U.K. ($15.3 million), Korea ($14.6 million), Australia ($13.9 million), and Italy ($10.4 million) among the top five.

Endgame will open in Mexico, Spain, India, Japan, South Africa, Vietnam, Venezuela, and Ecuador today. Russia’s debut is scheduled for April 29.

We’ll be updating this post as more reports come in, but for now, here are the highlights and territory earnings breakdowns from Disney:

Opening Territories

·  Avengers: Endgame opened at #1 in all markets.

·  UK:  Highest all-time industry single day (+86% higher than Avengers: Infinity War opening day)

·   Brazil:  Highest all-time industry single day (+67% higher than Avengers: Infinity War opening day)

·   Rest of Latin America:  Highest all-time industry single day in every market that opened yesterday; Panama, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Trinidad and Uruguay.

·  Rest of Europe:  Highest all-time industry opening day in Portugal, Bosnia/Herz, Czech Rep, Serbia (non-local), Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine. #2 highest all-time industry opening day in Croatia and Hungary.  Highest superhero opening day of all-time in Israel, Poland and Slovenia.

· Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand: Avengers: Endgame has posted the #2 all-time industry single day on Thursday, after posting the highest all-time industry single day on Wednesday. Australia and New Zealand took advantage of Anzac Day with respective drops of just -3% and -1%.

· Rest of Asia:  Highest all-time industry Thursday
in Taiwan and Malaysia.

· Italy: After posting the #2 all-time industry opening day yesterday, Avengers: Endgame has followed that with a #2 all-time industry Thursday.

Disney also notes, “Avengers: Endgame is currently pacing ahead of Avengers: Infinity War in all markets; however, at this early stage, it is not completely possible to compare overall performance to date vs comps as the comps often opened on different days to Avengers: Endgame for the 46 territories to date.”

“Avengers: Endgame has set IMAX opening day records in 38 markets already, including China, France, Germany, Taiwan, Brazil and Argentina, with $33M IMAX box office globally to date.  In China, it has posted $21M IMAX in the first two days, already beating the 3 day opening weekend record held by Avengers: Infinity War ($20.3M).”

Territories

GBO

   

China

$154.5M

UK

$15.3M

Korea

$14.6M

Australia

$13.9M

Italy

$10.4M

Germany

$9.7M

France

$9.6M

Philippines

$7.0M

Brazil

$7.0M

Indonesia

$5.1M

Hong Kong

$4.9M

Taiwan

$4.4M

Thailand

$4.1M

Other

$44.5M

   

Total

$305.0M

Jesse Rifkin and Chris Eggertsen contributed to this report

Image courtesy: The Walt Disney Co.