‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Is Already Rewriting Box Office History, and It Hasn’t Even Opened Yet

Marvel Studios has spent the past couple of years working to recapture the box office dominance that once made the MCU feel unstoppable, following a stretch that included underwhelming results for films like ‘The Marvels’ and ‘Thunderbolts.’ That comeback effort found real momentum this year with ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ which reset the domestic opening weekend record with a $360 million debut and has since crossed $2 billion worldwide.

Now, all eyes are turning toward December, where ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘ is preparing to test whether that momentum can carry into an even bigger event. With Robert Downey Jr. returning as Doctor Doom, Chris Evans back as Steve Rogers, and the Russo Brothers once again directing, Disney has spared no expense trying to turn the film into the biggest Marvel release in years.

Early indicators suggest that strategy is working. According to a new report from Collider, ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is officially tracking for a $300 million opening weekend, with the film already grossing $35 million in advance ticket sales months before its December 18 release. No other film in history has reached that presale figure this early in its rollout.

That $35 million milestone builds on a rollout that began back in July, when Marvel opened premium-format presales tied to the film’s first trailer across roughly 1,000 domestic theaters. Those early sales alone generated $16.5 million within the first 24 hours, with premium showtimes for December 17 and 18 largely selling out on day one, according to Variety’s reporting on the initial presale window.

By comparison, that early pace reportedly ran about 65 percent ahead of the presale trajectory ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ set on its way to its own record-breaking debut. Given that ‘Brand New Day’ opened to $360 million domestically with essentially the entire marketplace to itself, ‘Doomsday’ matching or exceeding that number would mark the second time in a single year Marvel resets its own opening weekend record.

Collider’s report places Doomsday’s projected opening weekend range between $260 million and $300 million, a massive number on its own, though still short of the outright records set earlier this year. Complicating matters further, ‘Doomsday’ shares its December 18 release date with Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Three,’ which is separately projected to open north of $100 million and won’t be competing for the same audience but will be splitting the marketplace’s premium screens.

That scheduling conflict carries added weight since ‘Dune: Part Three’ has secured exclusive access to IMAX screens for three weeks surrounding its release, a decision tied to Villeneuve shooting the film on the format’s proprietary cameras. That means ‘Doomsday’ will be relying entirely on non-IMAX premium formats to hit its opening weekend targets, a genuine handicap for a film chasing the biggest debut in box office history.

Whether ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ ultimately lands closer to $260 million or pushes past $300 million, its unprecedented presale performance alone signals just how much pent-up demand exists for Marvel’s biggest ensemble return since ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ With four months still to go before release, the film’s final box office story is still very much being written.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!