April 11, 2018
by Carla Hay
“Avengers: Infinity War” (set for theatrical release on April 27, 2018) has the biggest group of Marvel superheroes in one movie, so it seems inevitable that “Avengers: Infinity War” is on track to be the biggest movie of 2018 and the biggest superhero movie in film history so far.* Sibling filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo directed “Avengers: Infinity War.” They previously helmed Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and the superhero mega-gathering of “Captain America: Civil War.”
The year 2018 is shaping up to be a record-breaking year for Marvel Studios, which has already had massive success with “Black Panther,” the top movie of the first quarter of 2018. “Blank Panther” set its own records (it’s the biggest-selling movie to ever open in the month of February), but “Avengers: Infinity War” is blowing past the box-office numbers of “Black Panther” and several other superhero movies for total worldwide ticket sales. Fandango has announced that advance ticket sales number for “Avengers: Infinity War” is double of what “Black Panther” was during the same pre-release period of time.
According to a Fandango press release, “Avengers: Infinity War” is outselling the previous seven Marvel superhero movies combined: “Black Panther,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Doctor Strange,” “Captain America: Civil War” and “Ant-Man.” The superheroes in all seven of those movies are starring in “Avengers: Infinity War,” as the characters gather to defeat the evil supervillain Thanos (played by Josh Brolin).
The cast of characters in “Avengers: Infinity War” reads like a who’s who Marvel superheroes: Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland), Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (played by Chris Evans), Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo), Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman), Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (played by Don Cheadle), Scarlett Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen), Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan), Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie), Vision (played by Paul Bettany) and Guardians of the Galaxy (played by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, as well as the voice talents of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper). Also on board are Avengers “frenemies” Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) and Nebula (played by Karen Gillan).
The record-breaking success of “Avengers: Infinity War” comes as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. When “Iron Man” was released in 2008, it set off an unbroken string of hits from Marvel Studios, which previously operated as an independent studio affiliated with various studios such as Paramount, Fox and Sony before Marvel Entertainment was acquired by Disney in 2009.
In related news, Fandango is offering limited edition “Avengers: Infinity War” collectible movie character gift cards here. With every Fandango VIP purchase of “Infinity War” tickets, Fandango is offering a complimentary “Infinity War” poster by popular artist Kaz Oomori from Fandango Fanshop, while supplies last. Fans have the option to choose one of five exclusive posters, featuring Black Panther, Okoye, Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Guardians of the Galaxy and many others.
*April 30, 2018 UPDATE: According to Box Office Mojo: “Avengers: Infinity War” broke “both the domestic opening weekend box office record and worldwide opening record with a massive $250 million domestically and $630 million worldwide.”
