Thanks to an astonishing global opening by Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to break $20 billion made at the worldwide box office. As of this writing, the MCU has made $19.983b worldwide and will likely break the benchmark as tonight’s box office results begin pouring in.
Though it was bound to happen sooner or later, an unprecedented debut from Endgame quickened the pace. In its opening weekend, the fourth Avengers film made north of $1.2b, shattering Infinity War‘s previous record by nearly 90 percent. It’s also the eighth movie from the Disney-owned studio that has grossed more than $1b worldwide.
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In addition to all four Avengers films, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Iron Man 3, and Captain America: Civil War are the only other films to break the worldwide benchmark. Not all too surprising, the lowest-grossing film in the MCU is The Incredible Hulk, a movie which made just $263.4m over the course of its entire box office run. In comparison, Endgame made more money by Saturday afternoon during its opening weekend stateside than the lone Hulk film made worldwide over the span of months.
From here, Marvel Studios box office returns keep trending upwards. As seen with other franchises with this shared cinematic universe, each sequel tends to make a decent amount more than its predecessor as fans have had the chance to learn more about the characters on-screen. Save for the lower-end performance of Ant-Man and the Wasp ($622.7m WW), Marvel Studios has been on a hot streak the past year, with four of the last five movies grossing at least $1.1b globally.
Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are now in theaters. Spider-Man: Far From Home, the third Marvel Studios film of the year, is set to swing into theaters July 2nd.
How much do you think Endgame will end up making at the end of its box office run? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!
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