‘Captain Marvel’ Has Stellar Thursday Night With More Than $20 Million Preview
Captain Marvel‘s Thursday night preview numbers are in, and they are out of this world.
The Brie Larson film is the first solo female-led movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and girl power is proving to bring in the big bucks. Deadline is reporting that Captain Marvel earned just over $20.7 million domestically from Thursday night showings, a feat not easily achieved by any film, no matter what the genre.
The MCU’s newest film is stacking up quite nice against its predecessors, and has become the fifth-highest Thursday night opener among the pack. Captain Marvel trails Avengers: Infinity War ($39 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron, ($27.6 million), Black Panther ($25.2 million) and Captain America: Civil War ($25 million). It’s the second highest solo-film opener for the franchise, and has topped 16 other films in the MCU overall.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, Captain Marvel was projected to earn just over $100 million in its opening weekend, and Thursday’s numbers are suggesting that the film will easily surpass this estimate. Projections for the opening weekend of the MCU film changed from week to week, at one point shooting for $160 million.
Captain Marvel not only soared in the United States, but overseas as well. According to Box Office Pro, the film made over $44 million overseas, and had an incredible $34 million opening day in China. The $44 million does not include the $34 million estimate from China, meaning Captain Marvel earned the former number from markets including Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Australia.
Box office: #CaptainMarvel flies to huge $20.7M in previews https://t.co/NEqRvLTrkq pic.twitter.com/vXsk2c0qJ5
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 8, 2019
The MCU’s first female-led film is constantly being compared to DC’s Wonder Woman, which many critics have called the first major female-led superhero film. The Gal Gadot film earned $11 million on its Thursday opener back in 2017, paving the way for female-led superhero films. Wonder Woman went on to earn $412 million domestically, with an international gross of $821 million. Projections for Captain Marvel have it set to earn $440 million in the United States for the length of its run.
#CaptainMarvel powers to $78 million in early international box office https://t.co/X1qMfD9DUv pic.twitter.com/7yoZaYcFoX
— Variety (@Variety) March 8, 2019
Captain Marvel will have the best opening weekend of 2019 for the time being, as it will more than likely be topped by fellow MCU film, Avengers: Endgame, which hits theaters on April 26. Endgame is currently projecting a $265 million domestic opening, which would make it the highest opener in domestic box office history — surpassing its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, by $7 million. Some estimates for Endgame have its opening weekend as high as $290 million, which would put it on track to becoming the highest-earning movie of all time.
Captain Marvel is currently in theaters everywhere.
