‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Banks $16.5 Million USD in First-Day Presales Without Its Usual IMAX Edge
Marvel is countering the ‘Dune: Part III’ IMAX blackout with a new premium certification called Infinity Vision.
Summary
'Avengers: Doomsday' pulled in $16.5 million USD in advance ticket sales on its first day of availability
The figure landed with premium formats on sale in only around 1,000 domestic theaters, roughly double the first-day presales of 'Deadpool & Wolverine'
Marvel is heading into a December release without IMAX for the first three weeks, leaning on a new Infinity Vision certification instead
Avengers: Doomsday has generated $16.5 million USD in advance ticket sales after just one day of availability, an early show of force for Marvel Studios as it heads toward its December release. Disney opened ticket sales alongside the film’s first official trailer, and the response suggests the appetite for a full-scale Avengers event remains strong despite years of debate over superhero fatigue.
The context behind the number is what makes it notable. Those sales came from premium formats in roughly 1,000 domestic theaters, a fraction of the more than 4,000 North American screens the film will occupy when it opens the weekend of December 18. Even with that limited footprint, the presales came in at roughly twice the first-day figure for 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which had every format and screen on sale when it set its mark. Premium showtimes for the opening days are already largely sold out, with exhibitors reportedly adding screenings around the Christmas holiday to meet demand.
A significant wrinkle shapes the rollout. Avengers: Doomsday will not screen in IMAX for its first three weeks, since Dune: Part III holds exclusive access to the IMAX footprint after being shot with the company’s cameras. That is no small hurdle, given how heavily Marvel’s biggest titles have historically leaned on IMAX for a meaningful share of their grosses. To offset the gap, Disney introduced Infinity Vision, a certification rather than a new projection technology, meant to guarantee that participating theaters meet rigorous technical standards and still deliver a premium experience.
The stakes reach beyond a single opening weekend. The film marks the first full-scale Avengers crossover since 2019’s Endgame, which set the domestic opening-weekend record at $357 million USD and went on to gross more than $2.7 billion USD worldwide. Marvel’s output in the years since has been uneven, making Doomsday a real test of whether the studio can still command that kind of cultural and commercial gravity. It also carries added marquee weight with Robert Downey Jr. returning to the franchise as the villainous Doctor Doom. Advance sales do not always translate cleanly into final box office, but the early momentum points to one of the year’s biggest debuts.
Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters the weekend of December 18, landing on more than 4,000 North American screens.
