Disney’s latest Avengers film has smashed box-office records on its opening weekend taking $1.2bn (£1bn) and is on track to overtake Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time.

Avengers: Endgame took a record $350m in the world’s biggest movie market, North America, smashed records for a foreign film in China, and grossed more than any other film on its opening weekend globally.

The star-studded film is the first to take more than $1bn on its debut. Avatar, released in 2009, currently holds the record for highest-grossing film with $2.79bn worldwide. At the very least, Avengers: Endgame will almost certainly surpass Titanic, the 1997 blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, which ranks as the second biggest film of all time, taking $2.19bn globally.

Avengers: Endgame review – unconquerable brilliance takes Marvel to new heights Read more

The success of the film is a timely reminder that Disney’s upcoming streaming service, Disney+, has the content firepower to challenge global market leader Netflix despite its late entry. Avengers: Endgame is one of many golden properties that will debut exclusively on the service, which launches later this year, before being released elsewhere. Disney has already pulled all of its content from Netflix in the US, ahead of a likely global pullout, costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing revenue in order to make its service a must-buy. In the US, subscriptions to Disney+ will be priced at $6.99 a month, just over half the monthly cost of Netflix, with a global rollout beginning next year.

The success of Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of 21 films in the Marvel superhero universe that started with Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man in 2008. Disney acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4bn, an acquisition criticised at the time as too highly priced, given that Marvel had licensed off a number of its then-major franchises, such as Spider-Man and X-Men, when the company was cash-strapped in the 1990s.

The success of the film is a reminder that movie-going remains hugely important, even in the much-hyped on-demand era, with the UK last year enjoying its best cinema attendance since 1971.</s>Avengers: Endgame winning the weekend box office around the world was a foregone conclusion, but even the most generous box office analysts never predicted it was going to be this big.

Walt Disney Studios and Marvel Studios have announced the record-shattering Avengers Endgame box office numbers from the film’s opening weekend, and the totals are staggering. Not only did the film obliterate the previous opening day and opening weekend numbers in the United States, but it became the first film ever to cross the $1 billion milestone in its opening weekend globally. Get all the Avengers Endgame box office numbers below.

On top of the record-breaking Thursday night preview numbers, Avengers: Endgame has landed a $350 million opening weekend in the United States, nearly $100 million more than the previous record set by Avengers: Infinity War with $257.6 million. That includes a recording breaking single day count of $156.7 million on Friday, significantly topping Star Wars: The Force Awakens record of $119.1 million. Endgame also added another record-setting day on Saturday with $109 million, and what looks like an $84.3 million Sunday today.

Keep in mind that as of now some of these numbers are estimates from the studio, but the final numbers won’t be far off from this at all. In fact, Disney and Marvel are even being a little conservative with some of these numbers, and industry estimates outside of the studio (via Deadline) have some of the numbers just a tad higher. But the potential small changes in the final numbers won’t keep Avengers: Endgame from breaking all these box office records.

Meanwhile, around the world, Avengers: Endgame did huge business in all territories (except Russia where it hasn’t debuted yet). The estimated international total is $859 million, which includes a massive $330.5 million opening in China. That’s enough to set the record for the highest all-time global box office debut, surpassing the previous record set by Avengers: Infinity War with $640 million. The huge jump between the two movies is mostly because Infinity War didn’t open in China at the same time it hit theaters in the rest of the world.

Here are some of the other Avengers Endgame box office records set with the film’s opening:
• #1 domestic Saturday ($109M) and Sunday ($84.3M) grosses; Saturday is first $100M+ day without previews
• #1 China opening day ($107.8M) and opening weekend ($330.5M) and already ranking as the #4 non-local film ever released there
• 8th Marvel Studios film to cross $1B; 2nd to cross $1B this year (with Captain Marvel)
• Biggest industry opening weekend across all regions and in 44 markets, including Australia, China, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, France (admissions, non-local), Italy (non-local), Spain, UK/Ireland

The box office records will only continue as the movie is likely to have some record-setting weekday numbers in the coming week as well. The question is whether the movie will have long enough legs to reach the very exclusive $2 billion club. Only Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Infinity War have reached that milestone.

While it seems like a forgone conclusion that it will reach those heights, keep in mind that this movie is probably even more front-loaded in its opening weekend since people are desperate to avoid having the movie spoiled for them. Plus, a three-hour movie may not have as much rewatchability as the other movies in the $2 billion arena. But with Endgame exceeding box office expectations higher than anyone predicted, anything is possible.

Here’s what Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige had to say about this unprecedented box office opening:

“From the very beginning with ‘Iron Man,’ all we’ve wanted to do was tell stories that brought these characters to life onscreen the way we’ve experienced them as fans of the comics. That we’ve had so many other successes in this journey leading to this unbelievable result with ‘Avengers: Endgame’ has been almost entirely due to the fans around the world who have supported us through it all. Our directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, and our writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, really brought this story home, and I am also incredibly thankful for our cast and filmmakers from across the MCU and all who’ve worked so hard to make these films the best they can be, including the amazing teams at Marvel Studios and Disney. And of course, without Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, none of this would have been possible.”

“Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios team have continued to challenge notions of what is possible at the movie theatre both in terms of storytelling and at the box office. Though ‘Endgame’ is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world.”

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters everywhere now.</s>‘Avengers: Endgame’ has made movie history, assembling to take in a record-breaking $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office for its opening, according to Disney.

The Disney blockbuster, the 22nd offering in the Marvel Studios superhero franchise, has become the fastest film ever to break the $1 billion barrier, doing so in just five days.

The film, which started rolling out internationally on Wednesday, broke the previous record by hundreds of millions of dollars. Its prequel Avengers: Infinity War previously held the record making $640 million for its opening last year.

In the U.S. alone, Endgame brought in a record $350 million.

“Though Endgame is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world,” Alan Horn, chairman, The Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement.

The Avengers franchise began back in 2008 with Iron Man.

“From the very beginning with Iron Man, all we’ve wanted to do was tell stories that brought these characters to life onscreen the way we’ve experienced them as fans of the comics,” said Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios. “That we’ve had so many other successes in this journey leading to this unbelievable result with Avengers: Endgame has been almost entirely due to the fans around the world who have supported us through it all.”

Marvel Studios now holds the top two global openings of all time (Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War), as well as six of the top 10 domestic debuts and two of the top three international. Avengers: Endgame is the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), an unprecedented collection of interconnected films, all of which have opened No. 1 domestically.

Globally, the MCU films have grossed a collective $19.9 billion to date, with the four Avengers films — The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame — accounting for nearly $6.2 billion.

Endgame has received positive reviews from critics and earlier this week, social media was flooded with enthusiastic reactions following the movie’s premiere. The film currently has a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Google ‘Thanos’ to See an ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Easter Egg
• 11 Ways the Avengers Could Beat Thanos in ‘Endgame’</s>They avenged the fallen and then some.

Avengers: Endgame surpassed all expectations and has gone on to break box office records and become the highest-grossing box office opening of all time.

Disney announced that the film had taken home $1.209 billion worldwide in its opening weekend, breaking the opening-day record of last year's Avengers: Infinity War which took home $640.5 million.

If that's not enough, Box Office Mojo has stated the film took $1.015 billion at the global box office in its opening weekend, meaning it is definitely the first film to join the billion-dollar club in its opening weekend.

This is the eighth Marvel Studios film to join that special group of films.

The following records were also taken home by the Mickey Mouse studio, which also owns huge properties such as the Star Wars franchise and its Pixar animation films.

Disney’s statement today claimed the film took home $350 million in domestic gross over Avengers: Infinity War at $257.6 million, with International gross at $859 million, beating The Fate of the Furious, which earned $443.1 million in non-U.S. ticket sales.

The film also made a domestic US single-day gross of $156.7 million on Friday, while in China it made $107.8 million on its opening day, along with $330.5 million in its opening weekend there.

Endgame also has the biggest IMAX global debut ever at $91.5 million.

Safe to say Disney will be pleased with this result?

Will it now become the highest-grossing film of al time?

Avengers: Endgame is in UK cinemas now.</s>The Avengers assembled the biggest box office in film history, far surpassing multiple records on the books.

Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" made an estimated $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office for its opening, according to Disney. It is the only film in history to cross the $1 billion mark for its debut.

It broke the previous record by hundreds of millions of dollars. Its prequel "Avengers: Infinity War" formerly held the record making $640 million for its opening last year.

The film, which started rolling out internationally on Wednesday, took just 5 days to cross $1 billion.

"Endgame" also shattered the opening record in North America. The film, which stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, brought in an estimated $350 million domestically this weekend. That makes it the biggest opening weekend ever, blowing away the previous domestic record of $258 million that "Infinity War" made.

The Marvel film somehow exceeded its own huge expectations. Analysts predicted last week that the film could make anywhere from $260 million to $300 million domestically.

The film grossed an estimated $859 million overseas. That crushes the record for the biggest opening weekend internationally, which was held by 2017's "The Fate of the Furious."

The film's global domination was propelled by China. "Endgame" made $330.5 million there, which is the highest-grossing debut ever in China.

"We're watching a monumental moment in the history of cinema unfold -- one that the entire world is experiencing together," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.

Robbins added that the film is the "pay off Disney and Marvel have been promising" over its last decade of blockbuster films.

Marvel Studios has made nearly $20 billion at the worldwide box office over the last 10 years.

"Though 'Endgame' is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend's monumental success is a testament to the world they've envisioned," Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios' chairman, said in a statement.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore, said that "Endgame" signals a "momentous end of an era" but now opens the door for "a new and exciting chapter for the future of the Marvel brand."

"This will extend to the small screen as well with Disney + on the horizon," Dergarabedian said. "We will likely see a lot of synergy between the big and small screen."

"Endgame" was also a huge hit with critics.

The film, which clocks in at roughly three hours, has garnered acclaim from critics and moviegoers. It holds a 96% score on review site, Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore.

"Endgame" became a cinematic event with thousands of sell outs and movie theater chains running around the clock adding showtimes to meet the demand of moviegoers.

Will we ever see a film reach these box office heights again?

"It could be awhile, but never say never," Robbins said. "Records are made to be broken, but no one in their right mind can argue there's been one more impressive than this."</s>NEW YORK (AP) — The universe belongs to Marvel. “Avengers: Endgame” shattered the record for biggest opening weekend with an estimated $350 million in ticket sales domestically and $1.2 billion globally, reaching a new pinnacle in the blockbuster era that the comic-book studio has come to dominate.

The “Avengers” finale far exceeded even its own gargantuan expectations, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie had been forecast to open between $260 million and $300 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, but moviegoers turned out in such droves that “Endgame” blew past the previous record of $257.7 million, set last year by “Avengers: Infinity War” when it narrowly surpassed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($248 million or about $266 million in inflation adjusted dollars.)

“Endgame” was just as enormous overseas. Worldwide, it obliterated the previous record of $640.5 million, also set by “Infinity War.” (“Infinity War” didn’t open in China, the world’s second largest movie market, until two weeks after its debut.) “Endgame” set a new weekend record in China, too, where it made $330.5 million.

In one fell swoop, “Endgame” has already made more than movies like “Skyfall,” ”Aquaman” and “The Dark Knight Rises” grossed in their entire runs, not accounting for inflation.

Alan Horn, Disney chairman, credited Marvel Studios and its president, Kevin Feige, for challenging “notions of what is possible at the movie theater.”

“This weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world,” Horn said in a statement.

To accommodate demand, the Walt Disney Co. released “Endgame” in more theaters — 4,662 in the U.S. and Canada — than any opening before. Advance ticketing services set new records. Early ticket buyers crashed AMC’s website. And starting Thursday, some theaters even stayed open 72 hours straight.

“We’ve got some really tired staff,” said John Fithian, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners. “I talked to an exhibitor in Kansas who said, ‘I’ve never sold out a 7 a.m. show on Saturday morning before,’ and they were doing it all across their circuit.”

Not working in the film’s favor was its lengthy running time: 161 minutes. But theaters kept added thousands of showings for “Endgame” to get it on more screens than any movie before to satiate the frenzy around “Endgame.” Joe and Anthony Russo’s film ties together the “Avengers” storyline as well as the previous 21 releases of the Marvel “cinematic universe,” begun with 2008’s “Iron Man.”

For an industry dogged by uncertainty over the growing role of streaming, the weekend was a mammoth display of the movie theater’s lucrative potency. Fithian called it possibly “the most significant moment in the modern history of the movie business.”

“We’re looking at more than 30 million American and more than 100 million global guests that experienced ‘Endgame’ on the big screen in one weekend,” Fithian said. “The numbers are just staggering.”

Further boosting the results for “Endgame” were good reviews; it currently ranks as 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the best rating for any Marvel movie aside from “Black Panther.” Audiences gave the film an A-plus CinemaScore.

Single-handedly, “Endgame” led the overall weekend at the domestic box office to a record $400 million in ticket sales, according to Comscore. “Endgame” accounted for a staggering 88% of those tickets. The film’s grosses were aided by 3-D screenings (a record $540 million in global ticket sales) and IMAX screenings (a company record $91.5 million).

“Our partners in exhibition have done a great job with us on this film. As they saw the need, they opened up screens,” said Cathleen Taft, distribution chief for Disney. “While there may have been a concern — Is there going to be enough seats available? — I think that exhibition met that demand and rose to the occasion.”

But if there was any shadow to the weekend for the theatrical business, it was in just how reliant theaters have grown on one studio: Disney.

Disney now holds all but one of the top 12 box-office openings of all time. (Universal’s “Jurassic World” is the lone exception.) The studio is poised for a record-breaking year, with releases including “Aladdin,” ”Toy Story 4,” ”The Lion King,” ”Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Frozen 2” on the horizon.

Following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Disney is expected to account for at least 40% of domestic box-office revenue in 2019, a new record of market share. The company’s “Captain Marvel” — positioned as a kind of Marvel lead-in to “Endgame” — also rose to No. 2 on the weekend, eight weeks after it opened.

But theater owners regularly speak of a “halo effect” around a movie like “Endgame.” Such sensations draw in new moviegoers and expose millions to a barrage of movie trailers.

“This has got to be the biggest weekend in popcorn history,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Think of the gallons of soda and the hot dogs sold. This is going to continue all week and beyond. This is going to have long-term playability for sure.”

An enormous hit was much needed for a box office that, coming into the weekend, was lagging 16% of the pace of last year’s ticket sales, according to Comscore. “Endgame” moved the needle to negative 13.3% but the boost was less significant since “Infinity War” opened on the same weekend in 2018.

No other new wide release dared to open against “Endgame.” Warner Bros.’ “The Curse of La Llorona,” last week’s top movie, slid to third with $7.5 million.

The guessing game will now shift to just how much higher “Endgame” can go. Given its start, it’s likely to rival the top three worldwide grossers: “The Force Awakens” ($2.068 billion in 2015), “Titanic ($2.187 billion in 1997) and “Avatar” ($2.788 in 2009).</s>What just happened? Avengers: Endgame has become the first film in history to surpass $1 billion in its opening weekend and could dethrone Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time. Were you able to see it this weekend?

Disney on Sunday said the Marvel Studios film generated an estimated $350 million domestically and $859 million internationally although as of writing, Variety is reporting $356 million in North America and $866 million overseas. Final numbers from Disney are expected later today.

Avatar, by comparison, needed 19 days to cross the $1 billion mark and was the only film of 2009 to do so. In its total box office run, the movie managed to gross nearly $2.8 billion. Avengers: Infinity War, the previous record holder, reached $1 billion in earnings in 11 days.

Marvel is now responsible for the two biggest box office launches ever with Infinity War and Endgame.

The film’s performance next weekend should go a long way in forecasting whether or not it’ll be able to trump Avatar as the highest-grossing box office hit ever. I’ve spoken to at least one person that was unable to get tickets this past weekend and according to Comscore’s PostTrak survey, nearly 30 percent of those who already saw the film in North America expressed a desire to see it in theaters again.

Lead image courtesy Tyler Olson via Shutterstock. Second photo via Getty Images.</s>New York — The universe belongs to Marvel. “Avengers: Endgame” shattered the record for biggest opening weekend with an estimated $350 million in ticket sales domestically and $1.2 billion globally, reaching a new pinnacle in the blockbuster era that the comic-book studio has come to dominate.

The “Avengers” finale far exceeded even its own gargantuan expectations, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie had been forecast to open between $260 million and $300 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, but moviegoers turned out in such droves that “Endgame” blew past the previous record of $257.7 million, set last year by “Avengers: Infinity War” when it narrowly surpassed “The Force Awakens.”

“Endgame” was just as enormous overseas. Worldwide, it obliterated the previous record of $640.5 million, also set by “Infinity War.” (“Infinity War” didn’t open in China, the world’s second largest movie market, until two weeks after its debut.) “Endgame” set a new weekend record in China, too, where it made $330.5 million.

In one fell swoop, “Endgame” has already made more than movies like “Skyfall,” “Aquaman” and “The Dark Knight Rises” grossed in their entire runs, not accounting for inflation.

Alan Horn, Disney chairman, credited Marvel Studios and its president, Kevin Feige, for challenging “notions of what is possible at the movie theater.”

“This weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world,” Horn said in a statement.

To accommodate demand, the Walt Disney Co. released “Endgame” in more theaters — 4,662 in the U.S. and Canada — than any opening before. Advance ticketing services set new records. Early ticket buyers crashed AMC’s website. And starting Thursday, some theaters even stayed open 72 hours straight.

“We’ve got some really tired staff,” said John Fithian, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners. “I talked to an exhibitor in Kansas who said, ‘I’ve never sold out a 7 a.m. show on Saturday morning before,’ and they were doing it all across their circuit.”

Not working in the film’s favor was its lengthy running time: 161 minutes. But theaters dedicated more screens to “Endgame” than any movie before it to satiate the frenzy around Joe and Anthony Russo’s film, one which ties together the “Avengers” storyline as well as the previous 21 releases of the Marvel “cinematic universe” begun with 2008’s “Iron Man.”

For an industry dogged by uncertainty over the growing role of streaming, the weekend was a mammoth display of the movie theater’s lucrative potency. Fithian called it possibly “the most significant moment in the modern history of the movie business.”

“We’re looking at more than 30 million American and more than 100 million global guests that experienced ‘Endgame’ on the big screen in one weekend,” Fithian said. “The numbers are just staggering.”

Further boosting the results for “Endgame” were good reviews; it currently ranks as 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the best rating for any Marvel movie aside from “Black Panther.”

If there was any shadow to the weekend for the theatrical business, it was in just how reliant theaters have grown on one studio: Disney.

Disney now holds all but one of the top 12 box-office openings of all time. (Universal’s “Jurassic World” is the lone exception.) The studio is poised for a record-breaking year, with releases including “Aladdin,” ″Toy Story 2,” ″The Lion King,” ″Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Frozen 2” on the horizon.

Following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Disney is expected to account for at least 40% of domestic box-office revenue in 2019, a new record of market share. The company’s “Captain Marvel” — positioned as a kind of Marvel lead-in to “Endgame” — also rose to No. 2 on the weekend, eight weeks after it opened.

But theater owners regularly speak of a “halo effect” around a movie like “Endgame.” Such sensations draw in new moviegoers and expose millions to a barrage of movie trailers.

An enormous hit was much needed for a box office that, coming into the weekend, was lagging 16% of the pace of last year’s ticket sales, according to Comscore. “Endgame” moved the needle a little, but the boost was less since “Infinity War” opened on the same weekend in 2018.

No other new wide release dared to open against “Endgame.” The guessing game will now shift to just how much higher “Endgame” can go. Given its start, it’s likely to rival the top three worldwide grossers: “The Force Awakens” ($2.068 billion in 2015), “Titanic ($2.187 billion in 1997) and “Avatar” ($2.788 in 2009).</s>Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of a hugely profitable series of films that began with Iron Man in 2008. It makes sense that the opening weekend of the concluding chapter — which also happens to be a very good movie with a 96 percent critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes — would make a lot of money. But if there's a place in box office coverage for "whoa, Nellie" anymore, it is perhaps here. And so let us say: Whoa, Nellie.

It's already made an estimated one billion dollars around the world. Well, $1.2 billion, actually. So, you know. Big. Even for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its gargantuan hauls, this was a gargantuan haul.

Just how big was opening weekend, domestically? Well, Thursday night previews earned $60 million, which is more money than all but 11 2019 films have made in their entire runs. The weekend as a whole is estimated at $350 million, which makes it — per Disney's eager press release breaking down everything but the inevitable popcorn shortage — the first film to ever make $300 million on opening weekend. Friday, it had the biggest single day for any film ever, making $156.7 million in one day. It also had the biggest Saturday ever and the biggest Sunday ever. This is all in spite of the disadvantage of being three hours long, which might limit the number of showings — except that it's being shown at a record-breaking 4,662 theaters. It's an opening weekend that beat the last Avengers film, Avengers: Infinity War, by more than $100 million.

Avengers: Endgame is also an international smash: biggest international opening weekend ever on the whole, and record-breaking weekends in China and 43 other markets (Spain! Korea! Brazil! And so forth!). Disney calls the Chinese box office receipts of $330.5 million "astounding," if it does say so itself.

According to box office site Box Office Mojo, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now a 22-film series that's about to pass $20 billion internationally.</s>
• 'Avengers: Endgame' made its debut in Nigeria last week.
• The superhero movie broke records by making over N20 million in one day.
• Over the weekend, it became the number one movie across the country, making N188 million.

Marvel's 'Avengers: Endgame' made its debut in Nigerian cinemas on April 25, 2019.

The three-hour superhero movie made N22.5 million on its first day, according to statistics from the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN).

According to the CEAN secretary, Moses Babatope, the film has broken the record of the 'Biggest advance screening day (single day) of over N20m.'

Over the weekend, it made a whopping N188 million thereby making a new record for the biggest opening in Nigeria.

This title was previously held by 'Black Panther' which garnered N135.4 million in its first weekend.

Endgame also broke records across the continent. On April 29, 2019, Disney South Africa announced that this new movie made over R34-million in its opening weekend. It is the first movie to break the R30-million mark in this period.

Overall, the film has reportedly made over ‎N214.4 million in its opening weekend in West Africa and KSh33-million in East Africa.

ALSO READ: 'Avengers: Endgame' is dominating the box office like no other movie in history

In 2018, Black Panther was the best in the country and across the world. It grossed over N806 million and over $1 billion worldwide.

Then, the first female superhero movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Captain Marvel - was released in March 2019.

It made N63 million in its first weekend and over N90 million within its first seven days in Nigerian theatres.

By the end of the month, the movie had grossed over N175 million making it the highest grossing movie in Nigeria for the month of March.

Right now, Endgame is well on its way to breaking previous Marvel records in the country. The CEAN secretary believes that 'Avengers: Endgame' could become the 'Biggest film of 2019'.

He further speculates that the film will make the top 5 films all time in Nigeria within 7 days of release. He adds that the film could surpass Black Panther's record of N806m and become the first N1b box office hit.

This is due to the Nigerian cinema culture, which he describes as being at an all-time high.

"Performance indicates that cinema culture is at an all-time high in Nigeria and can only get better. The 'Avengers: Endgame' release comes on the back of a solid Easter period as well which saw cinemas earn almost N150m in 7 days.

"Nigerian cinema-going audience showing love for comic book franchises as they are now set to occupy the top 5 slot for highest grossing films ever but for The Wedding Party 1 and 2," Babatope said in a statement.

Endgame is currently the 18th most lucrative movie ever made according to WatchMojo, making just over $1.2 billion worldwide since its opening day.

The Marvel Comics superhero saga reveals the fates of Iron Man, Thor and other popular heroes as they embark on an epic fight to defeat supervillain Thanos, who wreaked havoc on Earth in the last movie.

It is the fourth and final instalment of the Avengers movie series.
Avengers: Endgame breaks numerous box office records, including the biggest opening weekend in cinematic history, grossing over $1 billion worldwide.