The hidden side of politics

‘Avengers: Endgame’ within $7.1 million of ‘Avatar’ record ahead of San Diego Comic-Con

Reported by CNBC: 

Source: Marvel

If the stars align, and it appears they will, Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” will soon be the top-grossing film of all time, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” will cross $1 billion at the global box office and Marvel will continue to solidify itself as one of the most successful film franchises in industry history.

And there’s more to come.

In just a few days, Marvel is expected to take the stage at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con to unveil its next phase of superhero films.

Over the weekend, Disney reported that “Endgame” had reached $2.780 billion, just $7.16 million shy of “Avatar’s” $2.787 billion record. At this point, it seems inevitable that “Endgame” will surpass that figure.

After all, “Avengers: Infinity War” was released in April of last year, near the same date as “Endgame’s” debut this year, and ran through the first two weeks of September. Analysts have long predicted that “Endgame” would run until at least Labor Day.

Another feather in Marvel’s cap is the success of “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” The film is a collaboration between Marvel Studios and Sony, part of a deal struck between Sony’s Amy Pascal and Marvel’s Kevin Feige in 2015.

Sony would finance and distribute the film, but Marvel would produce the film, overseeing the story, picking the director and tying it in to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Disney doesn’t receive any box-office money from the film, it does still own the merchandising rights to the character — toys, clothing tie-ins and other merchandise all go into Disney’s pocket.

On Sunday, Sony reported that “Spider-Man: Far From Home” had earned $847 million globally. This is just under the $880.2 million “Spider-Man: Homecoming” made during its entire run in 2017. Expectations are that “Far From Home” will surpass $1 billion before leaving theaters this summer.

Spider-Man (Tom Holland) meets with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”

Sony

Since 2008, Marvel’s films have made more than $22.2 billion at the global box office. These films have been distributed by Paramount, Universal, Disney and Sony, although Disney has distributed the majority of them — 16.

And there are more films and TV shows to come from Disney.

For the company’s upcoming Disney+ streaming service, Marvel has announced a slate of television tie-in series, shows that will be impacted by and influence upcoming MCU films. So far, there will be “WandaVision,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” a Hawkeye series and a Loki series.

Future films include a prequel about Black Widow, “Guardians of the Galaxy 3,” and sequels to “Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel” and “Doctor Strange.”

Additonally, Marvel has teased an “Eternals” film featuring Thanos’ brother Starfox, as well as films “Ms. Marvel” and “Shang-Chi,” which would bring welcome diversity to Marvel’s slate.

It’s unclear when and in what order these films will be released. Fans and analysts are expecting that Marvel will make an announcement about its upcoming slate on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con. However, the studio could hold out until Disney’s D23 Expo in August to make this reveal.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.

Source:CNBC

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