'Avengers: Infinity War' Opening Day Box Office Numbers Are Out

Serving as the culmination of 10 years of storytelling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Infinity War was on a path to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time, a path that has officially kicked off with the film now in theaters. According to Deadline, box office estimates are putting its opening day grosses at $106.7 million, which includes $39 million from Thursday night screenings.

Projections based on these opening day numbers would put the film around $245.6 million for its opening weekend, making it the second-highest-grossing opening weekend of all time. The Force Awakens holds the record for opening weekend with $247.9 million. This small window could ultimately result in Avengers: Infinity War toppling the Star Wars film, depending on how the rest of the weekend pans out.

These opening day numbers also trail The Force Awakens, which took in $119.1 million, though Avengers passed The Last Jedi's $104.7 million.

Avengers: Infinity War will easily top the biggest opening weekends earned by other chapters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Marvel's The Avengers having earned $207.4 million, Avengers: Age of Ultron earning $191.2 million, and Captain America: Civil War taking in $179.1 million. Likely the biggest factor in the film's success is that it brings together all of the heroes introduced in every corner of the MCU thus far, in addition to debuting some new characters.

Financially, the film might be the most successful chapter in the MCU, though the critical reception doesn't quite match the box office totals. The film sits at 84 percent positive reviews on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, which is no small feat, but puts the film in 10th place in the overall rankings of films in the MCU.

ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis claims that, while the film is an overall success, it proved to be a difficult task to balance the massive roster of heroes.

"As dense as Infinity War might be, the characters are mostly scattered to different locations throughout. With multiple narratives being intertwined, the Russo Brothers put on a master class in balance. In a moment when one might think, 'I haven't seen Doctor Strange in a bit,' the next cut will bring Benedict Cumberbatch to the frame. Some sequences do not seamlessly flow from one moment to the next, but Infinity War's relentless pace make the two-and-a-half hour movie fly by all too quickly."

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films include Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, and the fourth Avengers on May 3, 2019. The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming hits on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lands in 2020.

Are you surprised by these box office numbers? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T Deadline]