Avengers: Endgame has been the most anticipated film of 2019, ever since Infinity War left us on that cliffhanger. With Thanos keeping his promise and destroying half of all living species, fans couldn’t wait to see how the remainder of the Avengers would ‘avenge’ their fellow comrades.
No wonder that the film created a record (of sorts) on a booking portal in India, where more than 1 millions tickets were sold in less than 24 hours after the counters opened. Given the absolutely crazy demand, the exhibitors were forced to add 24-hour shows, which meant shows were organised even at 3 am and 6.30 am.
#AvengersEndgame writes H-I-S-T-O-R-Y… Has a record-breaking, Blockbuster weekend… Unimaginable, unbelievable, unprecedented trending… Fri 53.10 cr, Sat 51.40 cr, Sun 52.70 cr. Total: ₹ 157.20 cr Nett BOC. India biz. Gross BOC: ₹ 187.14 cr.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) April 29, 2019
Most of these shows were playing at a reported 90-95% occupancy, and that seems to be reflecting in Endgame’s weekend box office figures. Beating Thugs of Hindostan, which made a reported 50 crore on the first day, this latest Marvel product has earned a reported ₹157 Cr (Nett) in the first 3 days. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, this is the biggest opening weekend figures for a Hollywood film on Indian soil, and it also seems to have left behind the Hindi version of India’s most expensive film – Baahubali: The Conclusion. The Hindi version (only) of Baahubali: The Conclusion earned a reported 121 crore during its opening weekend.
#AvengersEndgame shatters the myth that a massive screen count is the key to collect big numbers on Day 1/weekend… #AvengersEndgame has released in 2845 screens, but its occupancy is much, much higher than *Hindi* biggies that open in 4000+ screens.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) April 28, 2019
On a global level too, Avengers: Endgame is putting up unfathomable numbers. The film’s worldwide collections have reportedly made $1.2 billion within its opening weekend. To put things into perspective, Infinity War did a lifetime business of $2 billion, and Endgame seems to have covered more than half the ground in the opening weekend. Only three films (Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens) have earned more than $2 billion, and Endgame looks destined to break into that club by its second week.
Endgame has opened to smashing reviews, where critics have lauded the film for its fan-service, while the fans have lapped up the sheer enormity of the vision which has been executed in such an assured fashion. Concluding the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Endgame will be the last appearance of both Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans, playing the roles of Iron Man and Captain America respectively.
Some quarters of Hollywood are criticising Disney‘s (the MCU’s parent company) overwhelming dominance on the box office, where Endgame accounted for a reported 89% of ALL the tickets sold in America, during the weekend. Endgame comes shortly in the wake of Captain Marvel crossing the billion-dollar mark, and these two films alone account for more than 2 billion dollars at the box office, which is a significant chunk. Such severe dominance is killing the smaller, more experimental films.
However, few films are so universally loved like Endgame, and this might be something we don’t see for another decade at least.
