'Avengers: Infinity War' Unlikely to Break Global Box Office Opening Record Due to Late China Release

The big question in front of both Marvel fans and executives has always been 'How much money will [...]

The big question in front of both Marvel fans and executives has always been 'How much money will Avengers: Infinity War make? The culminating event of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to be a major cinematic milestone, and the scope of its success is nearly impossible to gauge, at this point.

First projections for Infinity War's opening weekend put the film at a $200M+ haul, and the latest tracking says the film could beat Star Wars: The Force Awakens domestic opening, which is $247.97M. However, a new report from WSJ states that there could be a hiccup in Marvel Studios plan for box office dominance: namely, China.

It's not that China (now the second-largest movie market in the world) won't see as many fans turn out to see Avengers: Infinity War, it's more a case of timing. While Infinity War hits theaters in most markets on April 27th, it won't reach Chinese markets until May 11th:

"Infinity War" is unlikely to post one of the highest global openings of all time, because it won't debut in China, the world's second largest movie market and a country where the government chooses release dates, until May 11. In Russia, the world's ninth largest movie market, it opens May 3. It opens everywhere else the same week as the U.S."

That delay will apparently be a big enough disruption to the film's momentum to endanger its chances of taking the global box office record - but perhaps not, as the same report states that Avengers: Infinity War is generated significant interest in China, where blockbusters like Star Wars have struggled.

To be fair, every time people start talking about areas where Marvel Studios may struggle, Marvel turns around and blows expectations out of the water. Black Panther was referred to as a risky property by a lot of analysts, but is now a billion-dollar-plus earner that has broken records and stigmas. For a lot of fans, that's the only trail of logic required: if Black Panther did so well, then a film with Black Panther, Wakanda, plus nearly two-dozen other popular MCU characters should be an easy win. It's understandable why analysts may want to play it safe with their optimistic outlook, but this may be the rare case where it's okay to get a little ahead of ourselves.

Avengers: Infinity War releases on April 27th. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.

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