Avengers: Endgame has been one of the most highly-anticipated films ever, and the figures prove just how excited fans were.
The Marvel film brings to a close the events which began in Iron Man all those years ago; the assembly of the Avengers over 21 films and their battle against archnemesis Thanos and his universe-destroying plans.
The excitement for the sequel has been building ever since Infinity War left us in existential despair in April last year, and trailers, interviews and rumours about the new film have only served to raise the hype over the past few weeks.
But now, Endgame is finally here. Thousands of people secured their tickets online early, and many chose to lose sleep in exchange for the opportunity to see the film first, at the midnight viewing.
As reported by CNBC, Avengers: Endgame has raked in $1.2 billion in just five days of screening globally.
It is the fastest a film has ever reached the billion dollar mark, blowing Avengers: Infinity War out of the water – the 2018 hit took $641 million in its opening weekend, a record that now looks paltry in comparison.
While the lengthy runtime of the sequel, which stands at 3 hours and 58 seconds, means cinemas can’t fit as many viewings into their schedule, but that’s had little effect on its popularity.
As a result of the advanced ticket sales, combined with excited Marvel fans purchasing tickets now the film has hit cinemas, Avengers: Endgame’s box office sales have passed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales in record time.
Even before its release, the sequel was set to be a smash. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film had a projected global launch of $850 to $900 million – figures which immediately beat out Infinity War, which had a global opening of $640.5 million.
The massive box office record was likely helped by the fact that Endgame was released in China around the same time it hit cinemas in the US and UK. In comparison, Marvel fans in China had to wait an extra two weeks for Infinity War after it was first rolled out in many other countries last year.
Many people were probably even more encouraged to flock to the cinema after hearing the film’s many positive reviews, from both fans and cast members:
Chris Evans, aka Captain America, admitted he cried six times while watching the film, while Chris Hemsworth, the God of Thunder, managed to beat that, saying ‘I cried more than six times, Chris’.
Mark Ruffalo, the man behind Hulk, told the Russo brothers ‘What you guys did up there was just beautiful’, Entertainment Weekly report.
The film was most definitely worth the wait – and now it will go down in history as a huge record breaker!
You can watch Avengers:Endgame in cinemas now.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.