Avengers: Endgame could be headed toward a mind-boggling box office performance

Avengers Endgame trailer.
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube)

Avengers: Endgame could soar to unprecedented box office heights.

Experts expect the Marvel sequel to surpass Avengers: Infinity War's opening weekend of $257 million, with many predicting a gross of between $260 million and $270 million. That would be enough to give the movie the new biggest domestic opening in history.

But it could beat even these lofty expectations, with Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter writing that a stunning $300 million domestic opening might be on the table. Only six movies in history have even achieved a domestic opening greater than $200 million. Not everyone is convinced a $300 million debut is actually possible, though.

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Endgame is also eying a global debut of at least between $850 million and $900 million, the Reporter notes, which would be a new record. This seems like a fairly conservative estimate, but The Wrap and Deadline suggest it could climb as high as $1 billion, thanks in part to the fact that it's opening in China and the U.S. in the same week.

In terms of final worldwide gross, Endgame looks likely to at the very least surpass Infinity War's $2 billion total. But by how much? In light of the glowing critical reviews and record-breaking opening day in China, it's not unreasonable to think that despite the summer competition, it could edge past Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Titanic to become the second highest-grossing movie ever made.

To do so, Endgame would need to increase Infinity War's box office earnings by about 7 percent, which would take it past Titanic to $2.2 billion. For comparison, the final Harry Potter installment increased its predecessor's worldwide gross by about 40 percent. But could the intimidating three-hour running time make beating Titanic a difficult feat?

Given the massive hype surrounding Endgame, one thing's for sure: if it falls short of that insane $300 million U.S. opening and $1 billion global debut, don't expect another film to achieve that milestone anytime soon.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.