'Avengers: Infinity War' Will Beat 'Justice League's Entire Box Office Run Today
If you are still debating the competition between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Films [...]
If you are still debating the competition between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Films Universe - just stop. If you are a DC fan who feels the need to light flame-war in time of MCU dominance - just stop. After a record-breaking opening weekend, Avengers: Infinity War has officially beat the entire global box office haul of Justice League; to use the old Marvel idiom: 'Nuff said!
As of writing this, Avengers: Infinity War has pulled in $640.9M in its global opening; Justice League pulled in a total global box office haul of $657M. With Monday estimates coming in strong, Infinity War is expected to cruise easily by Justice League's box office mark, on its way to ultimately dwarfing the entire DC Films franchise.
As stated, at this point there's no debate left: Marvel is not only the king of the superhero movie genre - it is the king of all entertainment. Not even Star Wars is holding a candle to the MCU anymore, as Infinity War has already crushed Star Wars: The Force Awakens' record-setting domestic opening, as well as coming in just behind The Fast and the Furious' record for foreign box office opening. In terms of overall global movie openings, Infinity War is now king. No longer in the discussion is anything the DCEU has put out, or even the studios' big heyday with The Dark Knight Trilogy a decade ago. Marvel has swept and proven that its approach of building up individual franchises and eventually uniting them is the most sound and lucrative we to go.
On a more positive note for DC Films fans: right now, the franchise is attempting a rally that will allow it to make a much-needed turnaround. There seems to be much more of a Marvel-minded approach at work, with more standalone approaches to each film - including an entire line of DC standalones that will allow for more creative diversity. The current confirmed slate includes Aquaman, which just made a splash with some first footage reveals; Shazam!, which has been generating modest hype during its production; and the much-anticipated Wonder Woman 2, with Kristen Wiig in a surprising villain role as Cheetah. Work is also quietly starting on Hangover director Todd Phillips' standalone Joker origin film, with Joaquin Phoenix possibly starring in the role.
If DC Films can make the simple baby steps of releasing several well-received standalone films, it would grease the path toward making a second - better - attempt at a franchise crossover.
The DC Extended Universe continues with Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020.
Avengers: Infinity War is now in theaters. 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.