'Avengers: Endgame' Box Office Rockets to Record $156.7M Friday - Hollywood Reporter

The superhero pic earned an unprecedented $156.7 million on Friday in North America; overseas, it finished the day with a massive early foreign total of $487 million.

To say Disney and Marvel's Avengers: Endgame is making history in its box office debut is an understatement.

The superhero tentpole grossed $156.7 million on Friday in North America, putting it on course for a stunning domestic debut of $340 million-plus and a global launch of $1 billion. All are records, despite Endgame's lengthy running time of three hours.

The results overseas are no less astonishing. Avengers: Endgame, which began rolling out Wednesday, including in China, finished Friday with a three-day foreign tally of $487 million. That's already the biggest international opening of all time, eclipsing The Fate of the Furious ($443 million).

The Russo brothers shot Endgame back-to-back with last year's Avengers: Infinity War, the previous record holder for biggest global opening ($640.5 million) and biggest domestic debut ($257.6 million), not adjusted for inflation. Endgame has the advantage of opening day and date in China, unlike Infinity War.

Globally, Endgame's early cume through Friday stood at $643.7 million, another record-breaking feat in eclipsing Infinity War's entire opening before Saturday gets underway. China's portion through Friday is a record $217 million.

Furthermore, overall weekend revenue in the U.S. will clock in at $380 million or more, an unprecedented stat. Until now, the most ever collected in one weekend was $314 million.

In terms of biggest single day, that crown had belonged to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which took in $119 million on its first Friday.

Endgame sports an impressive 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, the second-best second best of any MCU title behind Black Panther (97 percent). And like Black Panther, Endgame was awarded a coveted A+ CinemaScore.

The tentpole is playing in 4,662 theaters in North America, the widest release of all time. Some cinemas are staying open around the clock to meet demand.

The nostalgia factor is running hot. Not only is Endgame a direct sequel to Infinity War, it's the culmination of the previous 21 titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a blockbuster series of films that commenced with Iron Man in 2008 and established Kevin Feige's Marvel Studios as best in show.

Endgame's halo effect is even boosting fellow MCU tentpole Captain Marvel, which in its eighth weekend is soaring back up the chart to No. 2 with a projected $8 million to $9 million as moviegoers who haven't seen the pic catch up before viewing Endgame.