Captain Marvelis projected to earn $160 million domestically during its debut weekend. The low end of the projection places the first female-led Marvel Cinematic Universe movie at $140 million and the high at $180 million. The movie is already breaking pre-sale records, so the big projections aren’t a complete shock. In Addition to introducing Carol Danvers, the movie is leading us into the future of the MCU andAvengers: Endgame, which hits theaters only weeks after.
Looking at past openings for the MCU, last year’sInfinity War was able to command a massive $257.6 million openingdomestically andBlack Pantherpulled off $202 million. This setsCaptain Marvelfirmly into the category ofBlack Panther, which was also predicted to make around the same amount of money during its debut weekend. Obviously, pre-sale tickets have already been bought by hardcore fans, but for the general public, critical reviews will have a big impact on the current projections.Black Pantherbenefitted from great reviews and word of mouth, allowing the movie to make more money during its first weekend.
Last year’sAnt-Man and the Wasptook in $75.8 million during its first weekend at thebox office, while the DCEU’sAquamanwas able to pull $67.8 million. As for the March opening, the only real competition for highest grossing debut for the month is 2016’sBatman v Superman, which took in $166 million and then Disney’s live-actionBeauty and the Beastwith $174.8 million. At its high end,Captain Marvelcan take down those record and could very well go on to make close to $1 billion globally when all is said and done. Again, the critics will more than likely have a pretty large part to play when it comes down to an epic box office run.
Another factor thatCaptain Marvelhas going for it is the fact that it’s thefirst female-led MCU movie. The DCEU beat them to the punch with 2017’sWonder Woman, and Marvel fans have been waiting patiently for the Carol Danvers standalone movie. Fandango recently reported that it has become the third best pre-seller in MCU history afterInfinity WarandBlack Panther.Captain Marvelalso takes place in the early 1990s, giving fans a look at the MCU that has not been seen before.
Reviews and word of mouth are going to be crucial to the sci-fi adventure’s success. Luckily, the reaction to the first twoCaptain Marvel trailersand TV spots have been positive. Bringing in Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is another plus for the project, but it’s unclear if all of this and the lead up toAvengers: Endgamewill be enough for the movie to live up to the MCU’s intense box office reputation. Whatever the case may be, things are looking good for Brie Larson’s first outing in the MCU. As for how well it will perform during its total box office run is another story. TheCaptain Marvelbox office predictions come to us courtesy ofBox Office Pro.
