Will Avengers:Infinity War Break Records?

Heading into this weekend in cinemas, all eyes are on the behemoth that is The Avengers: Infinity War.  This will easily be the most ambitious Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ever, and, I would suggest, is actually the most ambitious movie ever.  There are obviously movies that may have been deeply ambitious as far as filming style, such as the eleven year filming period of Boyhood or the one shot feel of Victoria.  The ambition in Infinity War is in the scope of characters and intersecting story lines.  A lot of films seem to have trouble balancing the story of a single protagonist, how much harder is it going to be for something as jam-packed as this film?

A few weeks ago, I scoffed at the idea of Infinity War setting the record for biggest domestic opening, currently held by The Force Awakens at $247.9 million.  The anticipation around The Force Awakens was greater than anything I had ever experienced, dwarfing the buzz that existed for The Phantom Menace.  People had not only gone a while without a Star Wars film, but had been put off by how poorly the prequel trilogy held up over time.  The trailers for The Force Awakens seemed to indicate that the film would capture the feeling of adventure that first hit theatres in 1977.  The movie was a juggernaut and set a new example of the power of marketing and branding.  Would another team up for The Avengers, the fourth time if we count Captain America: Civil War, do better than when the original novelty of the team up happened in 2012?

It would have been easy to say that no, it wouldn't do as well as the first film.  It is extremely difficult for properties to improve upon previous efforts, especially when the first was an event film of which had not been seen before.  What Infinity War needs for its success is to feel different and unique, to be something that commands people see it in theatres opening weekend if they want to be a part of the pop culture phenomenon and be a part of the conversation.

I would say that Disney has been able to do such a thing.  Even though the second Avengers movie lost ground domestically when compared to the first one, Infinity War is a whole different ball game.  Yes, The Avengers was huge, but Infinity War is the culmination of ten years and eighteen films.  The villain, Thanos, has been built and teased over the years.  The marketing has been a work of art, and the decision to bump the film up a week in the release schedule was a stunt that I believe helped increase the buzz and toss a new dynamic around the dialogue.

It would be so easy after eighteen movies for this to just feel like another film, but that's not Disney's game.  Just look at the past four Marvel movies, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Black Panther.  Each had a marketing campaign that created a sense that these were movies that were unique and had their own personality.  They weren't just four movies in the same franchise.  Each had a reason for being and seemed like they could stand on their own merits.  Disney over the past year has shown why it is the royalty of the shared universe.  The films are distinct and aren't forced to sell the next instalment.

This isn't a universe that needs to have an overarching grey and grim feel to it, it is a universe where films have their own style.  What I am getting at here, is that Thor: Ragnarok's Led Zeppelin infused nature is able to attract people who may not be down with the web-slinger.  The individuality of the eighteen previous films would have each reached different fan bases, and the marketing of Infinity War seems to insist that everyone has key parts in the story.  This film could be able to get a reach into audiences that no film before it has been able to.

We could look at different metrics, like the massive ticket pre-sales, or the insane activity on Twitter, but I don't believe that's needed.  Disney has been a frontrunner in marketing for a long time now.  What they have presented to the public is that yes, a team up has happened before, but never this big, and never with these consequences.  Forget what you have seen in the past, this is going to take us where we have never gone.  And yes, T'Challa is prominent, at least in the marketing.  The success of Black Panther has turned into an ace up the sleeve of Disney.  Black Panther's steamrolling of the box-office has added a lot of momentum.  While next weekend will be an insight into the staying power of a movie that is essentially the first part of a two movie series, this weekend could be about smashing records.  It may not get the biggest opening weekend in history, but it is safe to say that come Monday Disney will hold nine of the top ten openings of all time.