“Avengers: Doomsday” generated $16.5 million in ticket sales within its first 24 hours of presales for 1,000 premium large-format screens, according to Disney insiders, an early signal of demand for a film carrying heavy expectations to reverse a rocky stretch for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The presale push, which went live Monday, also marks the launch of Disney’s “Infinity Vision” certification program, a new in-house label the studio created to steer moviegoers toward auditoriums it considers technically superior. The program exists largely because of a scheduling collision: “Doomsday” and Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Three” both open December 18, and Warner Bros. locked in an exclusive three-week IMAX run for its film, leaving Disney’s tentpole without access to the format domestically on opening weekend.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed at CinemaCon that “Doomsday” would keep its December date rather than shift to claim open IMAX screens elsewhere on the calendar. Instead, Disney built Infinity Vision around roughly 75 qualifying theaters in the United States and about 300 worldwide, a footprint the studio is positioning as a premium alternative rather than a one-to-one replacement for IMAX’s roughly 1,700 global screens. An IMAX executive pushed back on the strategy, characterizing it as an attempt to compensate for the absence of an IMAX brand tied to the film rather than a genuine technical upgrade.
Disney is easing audiences into the new certification gradually. Infinity Vision debuts in September alongside a theatrical rerelease of “Avengers: Endgame” that will include bonus “Doomsday” footage, ahead of the December rollout. Some online commentary has already dubbed the shared release date “Dunesday,” an echo of the organic “Barbenheimer” phenomenon that paired “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in 2023, though the Disney-Warner Bros. rivalry carries far more direct competitive stakes.
The presale numbers arrive at a pivotal moment for Marvel. Recent releases such as “Thunderbolts*” and “Captain America: Brave New World” underperformed at the box office, while “The Marvels” fared worse still. Studio executives are counting on the returns of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, alongside a slate of surprises, to reignite the franchise’s pull with longtime fans and casual audiences alike. That rebound effort follows closely behind Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” which is tracking for a domestic opening north of $180 million.
