Entertainment

'Avengers: Infinity War' Is the Fastest Movie Ever to $1 Billion

What records is "Avengers: Infinity War" not going to break?

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By
ANDREW R. CHOW
, New York Times

What records is “Avengers: Infinity War” not going to break?

The Disney/Marvel film continued to vaporize its competition in its second week, becoming the fastest film ever to cross $1 billion globally. Domestically, the film took in another $112 million — the second biggest second weekend ever, behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” — and has now made $450 million in the United States and Canada.

The film cruised past the cumulative total of many of the wildly successful predecessors in the Marvel cinematic universe, including “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” Records are being set around the world, including for the biggest opening day ever in Russia. And the movie has still not touched down in China, where it is expected to draw a mammoth audience.

The film’s continued success reinforces the dominance of both Disney and Marvel studios in Hollywood. Disney just crossed $3 billion for 2018, breaking its own record for the shortest time to reach that landmark in a given year. And Marvel has another potential blockbuster, “Deadpool 2,” with Ryan Reynolds,arriving May 18.

In second place — and trailing by $98 million — was “Overboard”, a gender-swapped remake of the 1987 romantic comedy with the same title. The film stars Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez as unlikely lovers, and was produced by MGM and Pantelion Films, a Lionsgate-backed production company aimed at Latino audiences. (The film will open in Mexico this week, where Derbez is a huge star). While the film received poor reviews, it also earned an A- CinemaScore, which often bodes well for word-of-mouth ticket sales.

Focus Features’ “Tully,” starring Charlize Theron as an overworked mother, came in sixth with $3.2 million in 1,353 theaters, according to comScore, which compiles box office data. And “Bad Samaritan,” starring David Tennant as a sadistic villain, scraped to $1.6 million in 2,007 theaters. Director Dean Devlin self-distributed and marketed this movie through his own company Electric Entertainment.