‘Avengers: Infinity War’ invades box offices with massive $225M-$235M opening weekend in U.S.

Overseas, the tentpole has earned a mighty $95 million in its first two days; elsewhere, ‘Black Panther’ moves back up the chart in a superhero bonanza for Marvel.

Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War is on course for a domestic debut of $225 million-$235 million, the second-best showing of all time behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million), according to early returns. Grosses could easily climb higher as the weekend unfolds for a potential new record, or close to it.

Friday’s gross alone will come in at $100 million-$107 million, making Infinity War only the third film in history to clear $100 million in a single day behind Disney/Lucasfilms’ Force Awakens ($119.2 million) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($104.7 million). Until now, Avengers: Age of Ultron sported the biggest single day for a superhero pic ($84.4 million).

It’s a Marvel superhero bonanza all the way around as Black Panther moves up the chart from No. 8 to No. 5 in its ninth weekend.

Infinity War — receiving an A CinemaScore — is opening in most major territories around the globe timed to its U.S. release, excluding Russia (May 3) and China (May 11), and could approach $500 million worldwide by the end of Sunday. It’s already earned a massive $95 million in its first two days, setting industry records in many territories.

To date, The Avengers ($207.4 million) holds the record for the biggest superhero launch, followed by Black Panther ($202 million). They are the only two superhero titles to have crossed $200 million in their first weekend.

After Force Awakens, the biggest North American openings belong to Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220 million) and Jurassic World ($208.8 million).

Directed by the Russo brothers, Infinity War reunites the Avengers gang and friends, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), as they join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew tostop the evil intergalactic despot Thanos (Josh Brolin).
The success of Disney and Marvel’s Black Panther could be a huge boost for Infinity War. Black Panther has earned $681 million in North America to become the No. 3 film of all time behind Force Awakens ($936.7 million) and Avatar ($760.5 million). Globally, it has earned $1.325 billion to rest at No. 10 of the all-time biggest earners.

Overseas, Infinity War scored the biggest opening day in a slew of markets, including South Korea — where it has earned $11.4 million in its first two days — Brazil, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Central America, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and the United Arab Emirates.