While today marks the official widespread theatrical release for Avengers: Endgame, last night’s opening preview night showings played to sold-out theaters of fans (who went through *all* of the emotions) and shattered Disney/Marvel’s previous opening night box office records.
According to Deadline, the three-hour, epic film finale has grossed $60 million so far from Thursday night sales, which makes it the top-grossing preview for a film’s debut in the U.S. and Canada, even beating out Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its previous record of $57 million.
As of early last night, Deadline revealed the flick had grossed $43 million from its Thursday night showings beginning at 6 p.m.
To accommodate the popularity of the film, many theaters showed the movie into the wee hours of the morning, with midnight, 1:45 a.m., 2:30 a.m., and 3:30 a.m. showings all sold out at AMC theaters.
“With wildly enthusiastic critic and fan reviews, interest in Avengers: Endgame has continued to grow beyond even the most optimistic projections,” AMC CEO Adam Aron says in a statement, according to Deadline. “AMC wants everyone to be able to participate in this national cultural event of seeing Avengers: Endgame now on the big screen. So, at AMC Theatres, we have set aside approximately 10 million seats and 58,000 showtimes for this historic event. AMC has dedicated more seats and more showtimes behind this film’s opening than for any other movie in our history. While ticket sales to date have been incredibly robust, we still have millions of available seats for those making last-minute decisions to go to the movies in theatres this weekend and share in the euphoria.”
While the film sold well in first-night sales, it’s likely that was just the tipping point.
Photo: Marvel Entertainment
