When Marvel’s latest movie opens tonight, it might be the endgame for the Avengers, but it will be a whole new game for box office records.
Atlanta-filmed “Avengers: Endgame” will be on more screens than any movie ever has been in the United States and Canada, according to the Associated Press. Walt Disney Co. reportedly has lined up 4,600 movie theaters to show the 22nd installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And starting tonight, the blockbuster is being added to round-the-clock showings at nearly 30 AMC theaters nationwide, including three in metro Atlanta: AMC Southlake 24, AMC Parkway Pointe 15 and AMC DINE-IN North Point Mall 12.
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About $120 million in presales have already set records on advance ticketing services Fandango and Atom. AMC's website crashed during early "Endgame" ticket sales April 2.
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The movie's China premiere brought in a record $107 million, CNBC reported, and industry projections have the domestic three-day opening weekend raking in anywhere from $260 million to $270 million. That would shatter the domestic opening record of $257.6 million set by "Avengers: Infinity War" at this time last year. In the first week of availability, "Endgame" sold five times as many tickets as "Infinity War" on Fandango.
Credit: Mike Stewart
Credit: Mike Stewart
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"Endgame" will need to bring in record-breaking ticket sales, however, to cover it's record-breaking budget. The total budget for "Infinity War" and "Endgame" combined was a reported $1 billion. Disney spent $321.2 million on "Infinity War," according to Forbes, so that means the budget for "Endgame" was upward of $600 million.
That kind of budget is good news for Georgia, of course, because both movies were filmed here.
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Production for "Infinity War" was headquartered at Pinewood Studios in Fayette County. You'll spot Midtown, downtown and east Atlanta in some of the street scenes craftily made to look like New York City, Jennifer Brett reported last year.
Marvel took a real shine to a particular stretch of asphalt along Mitchell Street near Ted Turner Drive, Brett reported. "Captain America: Civil War" blew up a building there (not really) and "Spider-Man: Homecoming" had Tom Holland swing by prior to "Infinity War" coming to town.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
It was another banner year for Georgia's film and TV entertainment business in 2018, Rodney Ho reported, courtesy of the state's generous tax credits. The state had 455 qualified TV and film productions in fiscal year 2018, which covered July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
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The governor’s office said there was $2.7 billion in direct spending in the state from these productions, which ranged from “The Walking Dead” and “Ozark” to “Tag” and “Mile 22.” That is about the same amount as the previous year, when some big-budget extravaganzas such as “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War” were in production.
If you're still looking for tickets, they are available on AMC's website, as well as Fandango. Some showtimes are sold out, so you might have to alter your plans. And remember, as always — no spoilers.
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