“Avengers: Doomsday” Passes $50 Million in Presales

“Avengers: Doomsday” has crossed $50 million in domestic advance ticket sales more than three months before its December 18 release, according to figures Disney shared at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference.

The early total is a striking sign of demand for Marvel’s next large-scale crossover. It also doubles as a test for Disney’s new Infinity Vision theater certification, which is attached to more than 70 percent of the reported presales.

Infinity Vision gets its first major test

Disney chief financial officer Hugh Johnston presented the figures on September 9. Variety and IndieWire both reported the $50 million benchmark, while IndieWire noted that ticket sales began on July 20.

Infinity Vision is not a new projection format in the way IMAX is. It is a Disney certification for auditoriums that meet the studio’s standards for screen size, brightness and sound. Disney has positioned the label as a way for moviegoers to identify premium venues for its biggest releases.

The company says certified theaters must have screens at least 45 feet wide and meet defined sound and brightness requirements. For “Doomsday,” roughly $35 million of the advance total can be associated with Infinity Vision tickets if the 70 percent share is applied to Disney’s reported figure.

Marvel brings multiple teams together

Anthony and Joe Russo direct the film, which brings the Avengers into the same story as characters from the Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts and the X-Men. Robert Downey Jr. returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Victor Von Doom rather than Tony Stark.

The announced ensemble also includes Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Letitia Wright, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston and Simu Liu. Fantastic Four stars Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby are among the other returning performers.

Advance sales do not guarantee a final box-office result, especially this far from release. They do show that Disney has successfully turned an unusually early ticket window into both a Marvel event and a launchpad for its theater label. The next measure will be whether that momentum holds as the December opening approaches.