People were clearly ready to return to the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe this weekend. Opening weekend earnings for Marvel’s latest super hero clash “Captain America: Civil War” beat out all competitors with an estimated domestic total of $181 million. That’s the fifth largest domestic opening of all time, and the third largest Marvel opening (ahead of “Iron Man 3” and behind “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “The Avengers”).
International box office accrued another $220 million bringing the total to $496 million so far. Aided by that international opening a few weeks ago the movie has already racked up a super hero sized global box office of $678 million. For a movie that cost a rumored $250 million, it’s now well in the black and another huge win in 2016 for Disney.
The good news continues for Disney. Its box office totals for 2016 are now over $1.1B domestic, and $2.2B international, letting the studios zoom past the $3.3B mark globally. This is the fastest any studio has ever made it to those marks.
With only two major releases next week, “Captain America: Civil War” has a good chance of ruling the box office roost next weekend as well. This is shaping up to be Disney’s best year by a long shot.
Previously: Our review of Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War.”