“Avengers: Doomsday” has already generated more than $50 million in domestic ticket pre-sales, with over three months still remaining before the film opens in theaters.
Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston disclosed the figure Wednesday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, calling the early demand a sign of strong appetite among Marvel fans for another “Avengers” installment. The film, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, opens December 18 and will go head-to-head with Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three” on its release date.
More than 70% of advance tickets sold so far are for Disney’s newly created “Infinity Vision” designation, a certification the studio unveiled at CinemaCon for premium large-format screens. The label effectively steers moviegoers toward big-format theaters outside the Imax network, since Imax has committed its screens exclusively to “Dune: Part Three” during the December release weekend.
The pre-sale total already tops the $40 million recorded for “The Odyssey” and is closing in on the $60 million “Avengers: Endgame” pulled in ahead of its 2019 release, though it remains behind the $72 million mark set earlier this year by “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the current record holder.
Marketing for “Doomsday” has generated unusually large numbers across the board. Disney says the film’s July trailer became the company’s most-watched trailer ever, while a subsequent trailer for the extended “Avengers: Endgame” re-release, arriving in theaters September 25, drew 77 million views in its first 24 hours. A cast-reveal livestream that ran more than five hours reportedly pulled in 275 million digital views and 3.1 million social media mentions.
The buildup has also driven a surge in streaming activity. Disney reported that Marvel titles logged more than 420 million viewing hours on Disney+ during August alone, a jump the company described as the largest lift it has ever seen from an upcoming theatrical release.
“Doomsday” brings together an expansive roster spanning the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts and Fox’s original “X-Men” cast, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Robert Downey Jr., who returns to the franchise following Tony Stark’s death in “Endgame.”
