’Avengers: Endgame’ $1.2 billion opening shows fanboys’ role

Los Angeles: The Avengers broke all kinds of box office records as a young, male audience lined up for days to get tickets for its opening weekend even in the era of streaming content.

“Avengers: Endgame” took in $1.2 billion in its opening weekend — earning $350 million alone in the US and Canada and blowing through the $258 million mark held by the superhero team’s own gloved hands with last year’s “Infinity War.” Walt Disney Co. now boasts the top four spots for domestic opening weekends, rounded out by “The Last Jedi” and “The Force Awakens” from the Star Wars franchise, according to researcher Comscore Inc.

Disney shares were up 1.7% to $142.25 in premarket trading Monday, putting them on pace for another record high.

The crowds were 57% male, with the biggest cohort of 28% between the ages of 25 to 34 -- essentially the people who were there for the birth of the franchise in their teenage and early adult years. Families comprised just 18% of the audience, a figure that may rise after the initial crush of the testosterone crowd. Teenagers made up 11%.

“Anybody who could get tickets” is what determined the demographic breakdown over the opening weekend, Cathleen Taff, the president of distribution for Walt Disney Pictures, said in an interview. She expects more families and younger viewers to turn up to future screenings as the film plays on, adding that “it’s going to play for quite a while.”

Repeat viewings

The run for Endgame could drag on with repeat viewings, with almost three out of every 10 patrons planning to watch the movie again in a theater, according to a PostTrak survey.

“This may be the most significant moment in the modern history of the theater business,” said John Fithian, chief executive officer of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “What we’re excited about is that this historic weekend is the kickoff of what’s going to be a nine-month a stellar run in the movie theater business.”

The success of “Endgame” was a sorely needed balm for Hollywood in a year where the box office was lagging almost 17% behind the same period in 2018. Paul Dergarabedian, a media analyst at Comscore, estimates the film’s stellar opening accounted for 3.5 percentage points of a swing after some adjustments to square up with the timing of last year’s “Infinity War”. The box office is now just a bit more than 13% behind last year, Comscore estimates.

The film took in $330.5 million in China, just one of the opening records set in 44 countries, Disney said Sunday.

There was no shortage of superhero superlatives for “Avengers: Endgame”:

22-movie storyline

The picture, the latest installment from Disney’s Marvel studio, caps a 22-movie storyline that began with “Iron Man” in 2008. The Avengers superheroes, including Captain America, Hulk and Black Widow, are now battling the intergalactic villain Thanos, who was last seen wiping out half the living creatures in the universe.

Disney, which also owns the Star Wars franchise and is usually cautious with forecasts, had originally suggested an opening weekend in the $300 million range.

With this kind of juice, there’s every reason to believe “Endgame” will challenge the $2.07 billion worldwide gross of “The Force Awakens,” set in 2015. Only two other films in Hollywood history have taken in more: “Avatar” in 2009 and “Titanic,” released in 1997.

The Marvel machine has been a huge moneymaker for Disney. Last year’s “Infinity War,” for example, earned an estimated $985 million in profit, including TV, toys and theater ticket sales, according to S&P Global.

Looking forward, Disney’s Taff would not say whether it was possible to top this record. “While this is an end in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is certainly not THE end,” she said. “It’s going to open up a whole new world of possibilities.”