'Avengers: Endgame' Could Be the Biggest Movie Opening of All Time

[SummerMadness]

'Avengers: Endgame' Could Be the Biggest Movie Opening of All Time

Avengers: Endgame may well mean the end for some of the Marvel characters we’ve been watching on screen for the past 11 years. And audiences can’t wait to see who.

Audiences overwhelmed ticketing web sites when pre-sales began earlier this week and box office trackers now say the highly anticipated film could have the biggest domestic box office opening weekend of any film in history when it opens April 26.

Conservative estimates have set the range between $200 million and $250 million, but some oddsmakers say the film could come closer to $300 million, which will be music to the ears of Disney investors. That will be an especially noteworthy feat, given the film’s running time of three hours and 2 minutes (meaning theaters can’t show it as many times per day).

 

[Ironhold]

Given the film's three-hour run time, I do legitimately question how many people will just wait for Redbox so that they can view it in the comfort of their own home. Given that I've got some health issues that make sitting for prolonged periods a literally painful experience, I considered doing that myself.

That being said, when I went into the local theater this past Wednesday to get my tickets, I found that I was literally the first person to get tickets for the specific screening I was going for, 11 AM on Friday the 26th. I went to the theater as soon as I could get down there because I'd been hearing reports that various websites and other ventures were snatching up tickets as fast as they could for the sake of resale, but apparently they hadn't gotten my way yet.

 

[SummerMadness]

I read about the idea of bringing back movie intermission's given the runtime. I like that idea, kind of like 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is shorter at 2h44m. I've never bought a ticket in presale; I think it's probably a matter of location, but I got my ticket for Infinity War opening weekend at the box office. I went early for a later showing in the day, but I had no problem getting tickets. I'll probably do the same again. But Friday 11AM, I assume there will be some empty seats given that it's a workday and schoolday.

 

[Ironhold]

I read about the idea of bringing back movie intermission's given the runtime. I like that idea, kind of like 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is shorter at 2h44m. I've never bought a ticket in presale; I think it's probably a matter of location, but I got my ticket for Infinity War opening weekend at the box office. I went early for a later showing in the day, but I had no problem getting tickets. I'll probably do the same again. But Friday 11AM, I assume there will be some empty seats given that it's a workday and schoolday.

I'm an entertainment critic, but I'm too far below Hollywood's radar to notice.

While this means I don't have the same level of peer pressure to give certain ratings out, it does mean I don't get private showings or personal copies of the films. I have to see the film in theaters, which delays publication by a few days.

It also means that if I have reason to believe there's going to be a run on tickets, I have to get in ASAP.

 

[Goonie]

3hr run time? We might have just hit peak superhero.

 

[SummerMadness]

I'm an entertainment critic, but I'm too far below Hollywood's radar to notice.

While this means I don't have the same level of peer pressure to give certain ratings out, it does mean I don't get private showings or personal copies of the films. I have to see the film in theaters, which delays publication by a few days.

It also means that if I have reason to believe there's going to be a run on tickets, I have to get in ASAP.

So you get invitations to no press junkets? Do you write for a paper or have a YouTube channel? I’ve seen those people going to press screenings.

 

[Ironhold]

So you get invitations to no press junkets? Do you write for a paper or have a YouTube channel? I’ve seen those people going to press screenings.

Not a one, and I'm with a newspaper.

Copperas Cove Leader Press

Op/Ed every Tuesday, and review every Friday (unless bumped for breaking news). My material's behind a pay wall, but it's only $36 / year for a digital subscription.

I do a mix of new movie reviews (which are usually a week late because it's a bi-weekly paper) and "retro" reviews of older films (which are sometimes tied to specific events).

Even when I do "retro" reviews, however, I still show up at the local theater to drop some cash down at the arcade (I'm #10 on the leader board for the "Plants vs. Zombies" shooter and #1 for the beginner mode of a specific song on "Guitar Hero"). This makes me at least somewhat high-profile locally, as the workers quickly learn to look for me and other regular patrons know me as well.

But yeah, that's the trade-off I make. I don't get the perks a higher-profile reviewer gets, yet this also means I have no incentive to lie or pad things. I do have to be diplomatic about what I say since minors are reading (due to our involvement in the Newspapers In Education program), but that's about it.

That being said, I review on a 10-point scale. I start presuming each film is a 10, and adjust the points as I go along based on what I see as flaws, redeeming graces, and circumstances beyond control. For example, I'm inclined to forgive a low-budget indie film with dodgy special effects, but I fully expect a big-budget studio blockbuster to have top-of-the-line effects since by all rights they should have the budget and professional staff to get it done.

I *will* completely zero out a film I feel to have no saving graces (like "Don't Breathe" or "Gone Girl"), but there are some movies I've given perfect marks to as well.

Some examples off the top of my head?

"Night People" (retro review, yet to be published)

"Robot Carnival" (retro review; my benchmark for a perfect score)

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

"The Lego Movie"

"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi"

"No Escape"

 

[Ironhold]

3hr run time? We might have just hit peak superhero.

It's supposed to be the culmination of a decade-plus of "super" movies, and so that's a *lot* of story arcs they're trying to cram in there at once in order to complete everything.

Some of the talent who have been with the films for a while are reportedly looking to leave once their contracts run out, so Disney likely feels they don't have any other option but to do it this way.

As it is, there are reports that multiple scenes have been shot at least twice, once with Captain Marvel doing a task and once with another hero doing that same task. This has led to confusion as to why Disney did this; it's a known practice for films to do multiple different versions of a scene to confuse spies, but the reports surfaced at a time other reports said that Brie Larson and a few of the cast members weren't getting along on-set, raising questions about whether or not this was done to keep people in line by saying their scene(s) would be cut if they didn't settle down.

 

[tonyj88]

yes, really looking forward. I like that it is the Grand Ending of all 22 Marvel films

 

[SummerMadness]

As it is, there are reports that multiple scenes have been shot at least twice, once with Captain Marvel doing a task and once with another hero doing that same task. This has led to confusion as to why Disney did this; it's a known practice for films to do multiple different versions of a scene to confuse spies, but the reports surfaced at a time other reports said that Brie Larson and a few of the cast members weren't getting along on-set, raising questions about whether or not this was done to keep people in line by saying their scene(s) would be cut if they didn't settle down.

What is the source for this? I'm curious as to where these mutliple reports came from because I haven't seen anything like this.

 

[Ironhold]

What is the source for this? I'm curious as to where these mutliple reports came from because I haven't seen anything like this.

Right before "Captain Marvel" came out, various reports surfaced claiming that, according to leaks from the set, individual cast & crew members weren't happy with Larson for various reasons. One issue I recall being mentioned by individual reports was that Larson couldn't understand why various scenes were being shot both with and without her character and so started getting upset, such that she couldn't even be on-set when the alternate takes were being done.

Online source "Film Gob" ->

-> was, from what I understand, one of the first people to act on these leaks, although what he heard only hinted at inter-personal drama.

I'm trying to remember the other sources I was looking at and listening to, but it's been a busy month with a *lot* of family drama.

 

[Ironhold]

As it is, in the 1980s there was a big story arc in which Danvers lost her powers to Rogue, forcing someone else to rise as Captain Marvel while she operated under the name Binary.

Given that Disney will now have the movie rights to the X-Men once the deal goes through, I've seen individual fans speculate that if Larson *is* making a nuisance of herself or if "End Game" doesn't go as planned the MCU will do a repeat of this in order to justify making Larson less prominent.

 

[SummerMadness]

Right before "Captain Marvel" came out, various reports surfaced claiming that, according to leaks from the set, individual cast & crew members weren't happy with Larson for various reasons. One issue I recall being mentioned by individual reports was that Larson couldn't understand why various scenes were being shot both with and without her character and so started getting upset, such that she couldn't even be on-set when the alternate takes were being done.

Online source "Film Gob" ->

-> was, from what I understand, one of the first people to act on these leaks, although what he heard only hinted at inter-personal drama.

I'm trying to remember the other sources I was looking at and listening to, but it's been a busy month with a *lot* of family drama.

As it is, in the 1980s there was a big story arc in which Danvers lost her powers to Rogue, forcing someone else to rise as Captain Marvel while she operated under the name Binary.

Given that Disney will now have the movie rights to the X-Men once the deal goes through, I've seen individual fans speculate that if Larson *is* making a nuisance of herself or if "End Game" doesn't go as planned the MCU will do a repeat of this in order to justify making Larson less prominent.

Film Gob is not a source and if you can find a non-opinion website complaining about Brie Larson, then it just looks made up, much like the "Disney buying tickets to increase Captain Marvel box office" conspiracy swirling around. I'm sure you've got sources, but they seem cut from the same cloth of men who have a chip on their shoulder over a Brie Larson quote they took out of context. As of now, this rumor looks like the other anti-Larson garbage generated daily on the Internet. Will this be the new norm? Every superhero movie discussion must include a jab at Brie Larson for saying something non-controversial?

 

[dgiharris]

Given the film's three-hour run time, I do legitimately question how many people will just wait for Redbox so that they can view it in the comfort of their own home. .

There are some movies that you can wait for to come out on Redbox... dramas, Indie Films, Comedies, etc...

but big gigantic awesome Sci-Fi and Action movies--- no.... You gotta see those in the theater for the experience.

Then there is the problem of Spoilers. When super popular movies come out, you run the risk of inadvertently hearing spoiler after spoiler.

I'm a rare bird, whenever there is a movie I know I want to see I refuse to watch any trailers or engage in any discussion or speculation. I like to go into the movie as blank a slate as possible.

In any event, every theater showing this movie is going to be sold out for the first 4 weeks on Friday, Sat, and Sundays...

Marvel took their time building an awesome franchise, the role model and poster child of franchises.... And they are going to reap the reward. Even if this movie was horrifically bad, it will do $1 Billion in a walk.

The question isn't if it will break a $1Billion... No, the question is how soon it will break $1Billion. Similarly, I'd easily give odds that this beast will make over $2billion in the box office after everything is said and done...

 

[SummerMadness]

There are some movies that you can wait for to come out on Redbox... dramas, Indie Films, Comedies, etc...

but big gigantic awesome Sci-Fi and Action movies--- no.... You gotta see those in the theater for the experience.

Then there is the problem of Spoilers. When super popular movies come out, you run the risk of inadvertently hearing spoiler after spoiler.

I'm a rare bird, whenever there is a movie I know I want to see I refuse to watch any trailers or engage in any discussion or speculation. I like to go into the movie as blank a slate as possible.

In any event, every theater showing this movie is going to be sold out for the first 4 weeks on Friday, Sat, and Sundays...

Marvel took their time building an awesome franchise, the role model and poster child of franchises.... And they are going to reap the reward. Even if this movie was horrifically bad, it will do $1 Billion in a walk.

The question isn't if it will break a $1Billion... No, the question is how soon it will break $1Billion. Similarly, I'd easily give odds that this beast will make over $2billion in the box office after everything is said and done...

This movie will be a definite record breaker and considering the time of year for its release, any records it breaks will be amazing compared to if this were a summer release. I think it was a good move to space Captain Marvel and Endgame close to each other as you have high audience anticipation. At least Game of Thrones come back this weekend, this will be a fun two weeks for entertainment.

 

[rambot]

Not a one, and I'm with a newspaper.

Copperas Cove Leader Press

Op/Ed every Tuesday, and review every Friday (unless bumped for breaking news). My material's behind a pay wall, but it's only $36 / year for a digital subscription.

I do a mix of new movie reviews (which are usually a week late because it's a bi-weekly paper) and "retro" reviews of older films (which are sometimes tied to specific events).

Even when I do "retro" reviews, however, I still show up at the local theater to drop some cash down at the arcade (I'm #10 on the leader board for the "Plants vs. Zombies" shooter and #1 for the beginner mode of a specific song on "Guitar Hero"). This makes me at least somewhat high-profile locally, as the workers quickly learn to look for me and other regular patrons know me as well.

But yeah, that's the trade-off I make. I don't get the perks a higher-profile reviewer gets, yet this also means I have no incentive to lie or pad things. I do have to be diplomatic about what I say since minors are reading (due to our involvement in the Newspapers In Education program), but that's about it.

That being said, I review on a 10-point scale. I start presuming each film is a 10, and adjust the points as I go along based on what I see as flaws, redeeming graces, and circumstances beyond control. For example, I'm inclined to forgive a low-budget indie film with dodgy special effects, but I fully expect a big-budget studio blockbuster to have top-of-the-line effects since by all rights they should have the budget and professional staff to get it done.

I *will* completely zero out a film I feel to have no saving graces (like "Don't Breathe" or "Gone Girl"), but there are some movies I've given perfect marks to as well.

Some examples off the top of my head?

"Night People" (retro review, yet to be published)

"Robot Carnival" (retro review; my benchmark for a perfect score)

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

"The Lego Movie"

"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi"

"No Escape"

That's cool guy! Thanks for sharing that part of your life!

 

[dgiharris]

This movie will be a definite record breaker and considering the time of year for its release, any records it breaks will be amazing compared to if this were a summer release. I think it was a good move to space Captain Marvel and Endgame close to each other as you have high audience anticipation. At least Game of Thrones come back this weekend, this will be a fun two weeks for entertainment.

I refuse to start watching Game of Thrones until they finish. I love binge watching it and it is hell on Earth watching an episode and then having to wait a whole week for the next installment

only problem though is spoilers from people who talk about what happened in public.

I remember just standing in line at the grocery store and two people were talking about a key plot point in the middle of a season I had not watched yet and it was so annoying. I immediately went home and got caught up so that that wouldn't happen again and that was right before the big "Hold the Door" <=> Holdor scene. So then when that bombshell dropped, EVERYONE was talking about it the next day but lucky for me I got caught up so that didn't spoil anything for me...