This weekend is going to be a major one at the box office. After 18 blockbusters and a decade of superheroics, Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Infinity War will finally arrive in theaters. The film will unite all of the MCU's heroes in the epic battle against Josh Brolin's Thanos, and has been teased to essentially end the shared universe as we know it. With stakes and anticipation for the third Avengers movie sky high, there are a ton of cinephiles and casual fans who are willing to shell out money for opening weekend tickets. Early projections are in, and it Infinity War looks like its going to be breaking opening weekend records.
The current projections for Avengers: Infinity War's opening weekend performance have it coming it at a whopping $478-$498 million worldwide. The film is releasing in the US along with the international markets, flooding the studio with cash money and the internet with inevitable spoilers. There is obviously no market quite as excited for Infinity War as the one back home, with the blockbuster predicted to make $216-$235 million. Fans have been waiting a long time to see the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy finally cross paths, and fear of spoilers helping result in a massive opening haul.
Because Infinity War is so long in the making, fans are absolutely petrified of its contents being spoiled. The Russo Brothers have implored the fandom to stay off of social media for the time being, as early screeners are already happening all over the country. While the internet may be a dangerous place for the coming days, actor Anthony Mackie (aka Falcon) has maintained that even spoilers won't ruin the experience. Infinity War is so dense and features so many plot twists that one or two could get ruined without stopping you from having a good time in theaters.
The early estimates for this weekend's box office performance, which come to us from Deadline, put Avengers: Infinity War right up there with the last two main Star Wars films. The Force Awakens currently holds the record for strongest opening weekend with $247.9 million domestically. The Force Awakens has the advantage of being the first new Star Wars movie in many years, and having generations of fans. But Infinity War might just beat out The Last Jedi, which hauled a $220 million opening this past December.
While many fans have already bought their tickets for showings of Avengers: Infinity War, we've seen how word of mouth can really put the performance over the top. Black Panther did just that in February, and has continued making money in the months since its release. With Infinity War clocking in at over 2 and a half hours, fans may want to also rewatch in theaters to catch everything they missed.
Avengers: Infinity War arrives in theaters April 27th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
