WhileAvengers: Infinity Warhad no trouble taking the top spot at the domesticbox officefor a third weekend in a row, its debut in China is making headlines as well.Infinity Waropened at an estimated $200 million in the country, which, in terms of U.S. currency, is the highest opening weekend of all time. However, in terms of local Chinese currency, adjusted for inflation/exchange rates, its the second highest debut of all time in the Middle Kingdom.
Heading into this weekend, the highest Chinese opening weekend in terms of U.S. dollars wasMonster Hunt 2($187.9 million) withThe Fate of the Furiousearning $184.9 million. However, in terms of local currency,The Fate of the Furiousstill has the top spot with RMB1.352 billion, withAvengers: Infinity Warin second with RMB1.266 billion. Still, this debut is easily thebiggest Chinese opening weekend in Marvel Cinematic Universe historyin the Middle Kingdom, and is just $40 million shy of the all time China record for the MCU, $240.1 million set in 2015 byAvengers: Age of Ultron.
This comes afterAvengers: Infinity Warset anall-time record for the biggest opening dayin Chinese history at $76 million, which included $9 million from Thursday sneak peek screenings. The Chinese opening weekend also accounted for another box office record, with a whopping $20.5 million from the $200 million opening weekend coming from 514 IMAX screens. That tally easily broke the previous record of $13.3 million set last year byThe Fate of the Furious. The Disney estimates put the opening weekend at $200 million but a Chinese firm put it at $202 million, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the actual numbers are released.
Avengers: Infinity Warcurrently stands at $547.8 million domestic and $1.6 billion worldwide, having just passed the $1 billion mark at the foreign box office, thanks to this huge opening weekend in China. This meansAvengers: Infinity Warcould very well surpass the $2 billion mark worldwide, which only three films have managed to do,Star Wars: The Force Awakens($2.06 billion),Titanic($2.1 billion) andAvatar($2.7 billion). It has already surpassedAvengers: Age of Ultronas the biggest superhero movie of all time at the worldwide box office.
Avengers: Infinity Warhas also passedBlack Panther($1.3 billion) as the highest grossing movie worldwide this year, but it still has some work to do to catch its domestic total of $696.1 million. The movie will face its greatest test yet in its quest to $2 billion, going up against 20th Century Fox’sDeadpool 2, which has been tracking for an opening weekend around $150 million. The week after that will also bringSolo: A Star Wars Storyto theaters, which has been tracking around $170 million.Varietybroke the news on the Chinese opening weekend today.
