‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Just Landed A Surprise Blow In Its Box Office War With ‘Dune: Part Three’
The road to December 18, 2026 keeps getting messier, and moviegoers are loving every second of it. That date now belongs to two of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, and neither studio has budged an inch in the months since the collision course became public. Fans have already nicknamed the shared release date “Dunesday,” and the rivalry between Marvel and Warner Bros. keeps finding new ways to escalate.
For a while, Warner Bros. held the clear upper hand. The studio locked down exclusive IMAX bookings for ‘Dune: Part Three’ for three weeks after both films open, a move that left Disney scrambling to respond. Disney answered by creating a brand new large format designation called Infinity Vision specifically for select ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ theater screens.
Now Disney has fired back with a genuine surprise. The studio is opening ticket sales for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ a full five months early, with Infinity Vision presales set to go live on July 20, according to an exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter. That timeline puts Doomsday tickets on sale roughly five months ahead of the film’s theatrical bow.
The early sale window came with a bonus detail that fans have been begging for. The presale plan revealed a current runtime of 165 minutes for the sequel, positioning it above ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ at 149 minutes but shorter than ‘Avengers: Endgame’ at 181 minutes. Disney also confirmed that Infinity Vision screenings will launch even earlier, with a theatrical re-release of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ titled ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ arriving September 25.
The cast rounding out this ensemble only adds to the appetite for tickets. Robert Downey Jr. returns as Doctor Doom, joined by Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes and Letitia Wright as Black Panther, among many others. The Russo brothers direct from a script by longtime collaborators Stephen McFeely and Michael Waldron.
The timing of the announcement appears to be paying off already. Following the ticket news, ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ trended on Google with search interest reportedly doubling compared to the recent ‘Dune: Part Three’ trailer. That is a meaningful data point heading into a battle where hype has mostly favored Denis Villeneuve’s saga in recent months.
Warner Bros. certainly isn’t conceding anything yet. Dune: Part Three previously fired its own opening shot by putting IMAX 70mm tickets on sale eight months ahead of release, with several venues selling out and scalpers reportedly reselling seats for as much as $1000. With both studios refusing to shift their release date, this scheduling standoff looks likely to keep producing headlines all the way through the holidays.
Which movie do you think will do better?
Between the runtime reveal, the Infinity Vision rollout and the search traffic numbers, Doomsday clearly wanted this week’s news cycle for itself. Whether that translates into an actual box office edge come December remains anyone’s guess. Which side of Dunesday are you buying tickets for first, and does an early presale actually move the needle on your moviegoing plans?
