Disney and Marvel continue to push the box office envelope, with Avengers: Infinity War delivering up the latest victory.

Avengers: Infinity War broke both the domestic opening weekend box office record and worldwide opening record with a massive $258 million domestically and $641 million worldwide. In addition, Black Panther improved its position from eighth place last weekend to a spot in this weekend’s top five, truly making this a Marvel-ous weekend.

Most impressively, “Infinity War” nabbed the global record without the help of China, the world’s second biggest movie market. The film opens there on May 11.

Disney now holds 9 of the top 10 biggest openings in North American history. Infinity War‘s estimated $630 million worldwide opening means the 19 films so far released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have now amassed nearly $15.5 billion combined.

The mega-hit smashed a number of records in its global debut over the weekend, less than three months after Marvel’s Black Panther began its own historic run.

Here is a list of the records that Avengers: Infinity War now owns:

 

Biggest Domestic Opening of All Time

Avengers: Infinity War earned $258 million in its first weekend, besting fellow Disney title Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million).

Biggest Worldwide Opening of All Time 

The tentpole debuted to $383 million overseas for a global blastoff of $641 million — nearly $100 million more than the previous record holder, Universal’s The Fate of the Furious ($541.9 million).

Thanks to a day-and-date debut in China — where Infinity War doesn’t open until May 11 — Fate of the Furious still boasts the top international opening with $443.2 million (which included $184.9 million from the Middle Kingdom). Infinity War ranks as the No. 2 foreign bow of all time.

Biggest Superhero Opening of All Time

Marvel’s The Avengers was the previous record holder for top superhero launch in North America ($207.4 million), while Warner Bros. and DC’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice ($422.5 million) held the global crown.

Biggest Saturday of All Time in North America

Fueled by word of mouth, Infinity War took in $83 million on Saturday, well ahead of the previous record holder, Universal’s Jurassic World ($69.6 million). The latter had the advantage of opening in the heart of summer, when kids were out of school.

Infinity War‘s Friday haul was $106 million, the second-best showing ever behind Force Awakens ($119.1 million).

Biggest Sunday of All Time in North America

A final Sunday figure won’t be released until Monday morning, but estimates show Infinity War earning $61 million, narrowly beating Force Awakens ($60 million).

Biggest Opening of All Time in Numerous Markets

Infinity War scored the highest debut ever in South Korea ($39.2 million), Mexico ($25.1 million), Brazil ($18.8 million), the Philippines ($12.5 million), Thailand ($10 million), Indonesia ($9.6 million) and Malaysia ($8.4 million). In India ($18.6 million), it was the biggest bow for a Western title ever and has already surpassed the entire runs of The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. It also has already topped the first Avengers and Ultron in the Philippines.

Among other notable accomplishments, Infinity War was the No. 2 debut of all time in Australia ($23 million), behind Force Awakens.

Infinity War notched the best start for a superhero pic in France ($17.7 million), Germany ($14.7 million) and Spain ($8.3), while it was the second-best superhero showing in Italy ($11 million).

Leading all foreign markets with $42.2 million was the U.K./Ireland, where Infinity War now boasts the third-biggest launch of all time, including the biggest Saturday ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hollywood Reporter, Box Office Mojo

 

In theaters April 27, 2018, Disney Marvel’ Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War is an unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Infinity War to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

Thanos packs a heck of a punch in “Infinity War” – he pretty much punches everyone. It’s the emotion behind those punches that will surprise you David Betancourt – Washington Post

Marvel has pulled off all sorts of cinematic flavors in its 10-year legacy, from heist films and political thrillers to space operas and fantasy epics. Now it boasts a full-fledged Shakespearean tragedy. Brian Truitt –USA Today

What’s on screen now, however, is table-setting for events to come, a groaning board of superheroes, a superabundance of undifferentiated superpowers, and an ending that’s more exciting than anything that precedes it. Joe Morgenstern – Wall Street Journal

All the past decade’s Marvel movies have been heading toward this showdown. Turns out the payoff was worth the wait. Sara Stewart – New York Post

For the most part, the Russo brothers and Marvel Studios delivered on their promise to bring the disparate corners of film franchise together for a battle against Thanos, all while staying true to the characters who made the MCU so popular. Molly Freeman – ScreenRant

The most ambitious, most audacious, most mindblowing superhero film ever produced… THIS is why the superhero genre exists. Mark Hughes – Forbes

In a cinematic world stuffed with big-budget movies, Infinity War is a genuine blockbuster.Tim Grierson –  Screen International

Part of what makes Infinity War thrilling is the way it weaves its various narrative strands into a seamless whole-or, at least, as close to seamless as one might reasonably hope.Nick Schager –  The Daily Beast

The Russo brothers have clearly never learned the concept that less is more. They’ve used the premise of an Avengers reunion to put on a fireworks explosion of action and laughs (those roguish Guardians!) that won’t quit. Peter Travers – Rolling Stone

“Infinity War” is big, blustery and brave, taking viewers to places that they may not be used to going. Michael O’Sullivan – Washington Post

Here, the special-ness comes from the pleasure of seeing all these larger-than-life personalities smashed together into one supersized adventure. Angie Han – Mashable

The cliffhanger climax of Infinity War left the audience at my screening in a state that I can only describe with the most tired of critical clichés: They were stunned. Alan Scherstuhl – Village Voice

What lies beyond it, I’m sure we’ll know soon enough. For now, I’m enjoying Marvel’s version of denouement-excessive and inevitable.Richard Lawson – Vanity Fair

Welcome to the ultimate superhero extravaganza. Mara Reinstein Us Weekly

A movie that mostly gets it right – and isn’t afraid to go for truly dramatic moments, or remind us that even superheroes can be mortal. Stephen Whitty – New York Daily News

What saves Infinity War from being just another bloated supergroup tour – and what will end up being the thing that blows fans’ minds to dust – is the film’s final stretch. Chris Nashawaty – Entertainment Weekly

It’s a unique, exceptional achievement that somehow leaves you both fully satisfied and desperate for more. Eric Eisenberg – CinemaBlend

It’s just a supremely watchable film, utterly confident in its self-created malleable mythology. And confident also in the note of apocalyptic darkness. I know it’s silly. And yet I can’t help looking forward to the next supersized episode of mayhem. Peter Bradshaw – Guardian

What “Infinity War” accomplishes, with surprising ease, is complete immersion in this elaborate world, reflecting how deft Marvel has been in assembling it. Brian Lowry – CNN.com

t pays off the emotional investment movie audiences have been making in these characters for years, sometimes in genuinely heart-wrenching ways.  Bryan Bishop – The Verge 

If, for decades, the metaphor for propulsive blockbuster filmmaking was the “ride,” then watching “Avengers: Infinity War” is like going to a theme park and taking three spins on every ride there. Owen Gleiberman – Variety

With so many ingredients to stir into this overflowing pot, you have to hand it to the two experienced teams of Marvel collaborators who had a feel for how to pull this magnum opus off.  Todd McCarthy – Hollywood Reporter

The numbers are in and Disney Marvel’s Black Panther is king of the box odffice. More than that, it has already earned a place in the box office history books in just its first three-to-four days of release. The movie earned a $201.8 million Fri-Sun weekend and will earn an estimated $235m over the Fri-Mon holiday and $169M Internationally for a worldwide total of $404M.

So, let’s take a look at the seven box office records  that Black Panther has already broken and ten more that the Ryan Coogler-directed/Chadwick Boseman-starring superhero spectacular came awfully close to.

Biggest February opening weekend:

The previous high-water mark for a February opening weekend was Deadpool with $132 million over the Fri-Sun frame and $152m over the Fri-Mon Presidents Day weekend. While Black Panther lacked the Valentine’s Day advantage (Feb. 14 fell on a Saturday that year), it also played in 3D and had a PG-13 rating. Either way, it earned around 52% more than Deadpool and 148% more than Fifty Shades of Grey (which also had a Valentine’s Day Saturday advantage).

Biggest non-sequel opening weekend:

Unless you want to count The Avengers as a non-sequel (which you should not, since it literally plays as a sequel to Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger), then Black Panther has the second-biggest non-sequel debut of all time. But absent that, Black Panther (an almost entirely stand-alone movie) has the new record for the biggest Fri-Sun launch for a non-sequel/prequel, displacing The Hunger Games which opened with $152m in March of 2012 (in 2D).

Biggest solo superhero launch of all time:

Since it opened above the $174 million opening weekend of Iron Man 3, Black Panther has the new milestone for a solo superhero Fri-Sun debut. The only other bigger comic book superhero launch is The Avengers.

Biggest Fri-Sun opening weekend for a long holiday debut:

This is another one it swiped from Deadpool, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe flick has now earned more money in its Fri-Sun frame than any movie ever that had an extra day before or after its conventional Fri-Sun opening weekend.

Biggest long holiday opening weekend:

In terms of all “long weekend openings,” be they four days or six days, Black Panther’s estimated $235 million four-day launch (which could go up) is ahead of the $200 million Wed-Sun debut of Paramount/Viacom Inc.’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the $180 million six-day Independence Day weekend openings for Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Spider-Man 2 (the latter in 2D way back in 2004), the $158 million Thurs-Sun opening of Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith, the $156 million Fri-Mon Memorial debut of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, the $156 million Tuesday-to-Sunday Independence Day weekend debut of the original Transformers and the $152m Fri-Mon opening of Deadpool (in 2D and with an R-rating).

Biggest-grossing movie (in North America) directed by a black filmmaker:

With at least $235 million in four days, it has already passed the (2D) domestic total of F. Gary Gray’s Fate of the Furious. Sure, it has some work to go to catch up with Fate of the Furious’ $1.1 billion global total, but after this weekend, with a $404m+ worldwide launch, that pie-in-the-sky scenario isn’t entirely implausible.

Biggest pre-summer opening weekend:

Black Panther has the fifth-biggest Fri-Sun debut of all time. And since two of the bigger ones were Star Wars movies in mid-December and the other two were summer flicks (Avengers and Jurassic World), Black Panther has dethroned Batman v Superman ($166 million) as the biggest pre-summer opener of all time.

2^nd-Biggest comic book superhero opening weekend:

Among all comic book superhero movie opening weekends, the Fri-Sun frame stands behind only The Avengers ($207 million). It snagged a bigger opening weekend than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($166m), making it “bigger” than any DC movie ever (sans inflation). Black Panther has already outgrossed Justice League ($228m) in North America.

2^nd-biggest Sunday gross:

With the final estimates now counted for the Fri-Sun frame, Black Panther’s $60.096 million Sunday gross is down just -8% from Saturday and $9.5m more than the “pure” $50.6m Friday gross. It is the 33rd-biggest single-day gross. But it’s also the second-biggest Sunday gross of all time, behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($60.5m).

3rd-biggest four-day gross:

With at least $235 million in four days, it sits behind only The Last Jedi ($241m) and The Force Awakens ($288m) among the biggest four-day totals. Again, if you play the inflation card, we’re still looking at the fifth spot on this list, with The Dark Knight sneaking past the Black Panther. We’re hearing rumblings of a bigger-than-anticipated Monday, one that could push the Black Panther movie past The Last Jedi, but I can update quickly enough if the occasion arises.

3^rd-biggest non-summer opening weekend:

As of now, Black Panther’s Fri-Sun frame is the fifth-biggest overall launch of all time. And of those four bigger debuts, only two of them (The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi) opened outside of the core summer season. And yeah, if you account for inflation, Black Panther remains the third-biggest non-summer opening weekend of all time and the biggest pre-summer debut of all time.

4^th-biggest Saturday gross:

After its blockbuster opening day, Black Panther earned $65.8 million on Saturday. That was a mere 13% drop from opening day or a 31% jump if you take out the Thursday previews. It’s also the 24th-biggest single-day gross of all time and the fourth-biggest Saturday figure, between Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($63m) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($68.2m), The Avengers ($69.5m) and Jurassic World ($69.4m).

5^th-biggest opening weekend of all time:

This one pretty much speaks for itself. With a $201.8 million Fri-Sun frame, it sits behind only The Avengers ($207m), Jurassic World ($208m), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220m) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248m).

8^th-biggest Friday and 8^th-biggest single-day gross:

Among single-day grosses, Friday grosses and opening day grosses, Black Panther’s $75.8 million Friday sits behind only The Avengers ($80.8m), Batman v Superman ($81.5m), Jurassic World ($81.9m), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($91m), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II ($91m), The Last Jedi ($104.6m) and The Force Awakens ($119.1m).

8^th-biggest Monday gross:

The estimates could change tomorrow, but as of now, Black Panther has earned $33.2 million on its fourth day of release. That is the 179th-biggest single day ever, just ahead of Justice League’s initial Saturday gross.

25^th-biggest comic book movie of all time:

In just four days, its estimated $235 million gross already makes it the 25th-biggest comic book adaptation of all time, just ahead of X-Men: Days of Future Past ($233.9m) and X-Men: The Last Stand ($234.3m). It will be shooting up said chart every day for the next week or so. By Tuesday or Wednesday, it’ll be past the likes of Men in Black ($250m), Batman ($251m), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($259m) and The Amazing Spider-Man ($262m).

26^th-biggest superhero movie of all time:

In just four days, its estimated $235 million gross already makes it the 26th-biggest superhero movie of all time. Counting The Matrix Reloaded ($271m in 2003) and The Incredibles ($262m in 2004), but that won’t matter in a few days. It will be shooting up said chart every day for the next week or so. Just by Tuesday or Wednesday, it’ll be past the (unadjusted) domestic grosses of Men in Black ($250m), Batman ($251m), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($259m), The Incredibles ($261m) and The Amazing Spider-Man ($262m).

 

“Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.

Critics Consensus: Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU’s most absorbing stories — and introducing some of its most fully realized characters.

Here are some of the reviews:

Black Panther celebrates its hero’s heritage while delivering one of Marvel’s most all-around appealing standalone installments to date. Peter Debruge, Variety

Say this about Black Panther, which raises movie escapism very near the level of art: You’ve never seen anything like it in your life. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Black Panther is every bit as good as you were hoping. Actually — it’s better. A terrific screenplay from Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole elevates this thing way beyond the usual boundaries of the Marvel Universe. Liz Braun, Toronto Sun

Black Panther pounces toward the head of the class in a way that should make the King, and his key subjects, a cornerstone of an already-formidable roster. Brian Lowry, CNN.com

We didn’t know we’d been yearning for it until it arrived, but now that it’s here it’s unmistakable that the wait for a film like “Black Panther” has been way longer than it should have been. Kenneth Turn, Los Angeles Times

This is a superhero movie for the ages, and especially for this age. Peter Hammond, Deadline Hollywood

You believe in T’Challa, you believe in Wakanda, and you believe – maybe for the first time – that the MCU actually matters. David Ehrlich, IndieWire

While the themes are deep, Black Panther is at the same time a visual joy to behold, with confident quirkiness, insane action sequences and special effects, and the glorious reveal of Wakanda. Brian Truitt, USA Today

With uncanny timing, Marvel takes its superheroes into a domain they’ve never inhabited before and is all the better for it in Black Panther. Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

While many Marvel films feel like small pieces of a larger story, Black Panther is an entire cinematic universe unto itself. Matt Singer, ScreenCrush

 

The Force is strong in the Star Wars franchise with Star Wars: The Last Jedi delivering on expectations and debuting with the second largest opening weekend of all-time.

With an estimated $220 million, Star Wars: The Last Jedi delivered the second largest opening weekend everbehind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which debuted with $247.9 million back in 2015. Last Jedi got off to a strong start on Thursday night with the second largest preview gross ever of $45 million and became only the second film to ever gross over $100 million on opening day resulting in the second largest opening day ever, second largest single day, second largest Friday and joins Force Awakens as the fastest films to reach $100 million.

Globally, the film brought in  $450, 047, 000 in its debut weekend.

Opening day demographics show the film played to an audience that was 58% male vs. 43% female and of that audience 37% was 25 years old or under. Opening day audiences gave the film an “A” CinemaScore, matching the score for Force Awakens.

It’s also worth noting, Last Jedi‘s opening helped push Disney over the $2 billion mark domestically, joining Warner Bros. as the only two studios to reach that mark in 2017. This is the third consecutive year Disney has reached $2 billion domestically, becoming the first and only studio to have achieved this and given their upcoming slate and pending Fox acquisition it would seem the streak may never end.