The unstoppable juggernaut that is Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios has seemingly yet another blockbuster home-run on their hands. In a world where movies are measured by their financial draw and broken down not only by the opening weekend but by each day and each market, all eyes are drawn to the first opening shots of this Civil War, to Captain America: Civil War.
Already, before opening here in the United States market, Captain America: Civil War has drawn in approximately $200.2 million. On it’s opening day the Foreign Box Office reports that Captain America and Iron Man and their respective teams drew in just under $15 million and appeared on 1,989 movie theater screens. This was last Wednesday and over a week before opening in the domestic market of the United States. Korea saw its third biggest opening on Wednesday, with $4.3 million in one day. France saw its biggest opening day of 2016 which was $1.5 million and was only a small fraction behind another massive blockbuster, Avengers: Age of Ultron which was the movie that saw the biggest international opening of all time. By Sunday, the film was open to about 63% of the international stage and had already seen $28.7 million in revenue. Variety reports that this was from 3.93 million admissions tickets.
Since then the draw from thirty seven territories across the globe, including the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil which saw record-breaking numbers. Since that international-opening Wednesday, Korea has drawn in $28.9 million, Brazil $12.3 million, Australia $10.9, the United Kingdom at $20.5 million (its biggest opening of 2016) not to mention all the other countries that has contributed to the movies financial success thus far. IMax, (Image Maximum for those of you who did not know it was an acronym) the large format, premium screen bring in just under ten million. Comparing these number to the numbers we saw for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, we can see that this movie will be not only a financial success but a critical one as well.
Reviews thus far are massively favorable. As of writing this article, rotten tomatoes has Captain America: Civil War at 95% and 99% of those polled “want to see it” versus the other option of “Not interested”. As you can see, the movie with is impressive and unprecedented numbers is poised to be yet another hit in Disney/Marvel’s box non-stop train of blockbuster hits in the superhero genre. Steven Weintraub from Collider said recently on Twitter “CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is a Barry Bonds steroids hitting home-run by Marvel & Russo Brothers. And I LOVED Spider-Man in the film. LOVED.”
Marvel/Disney have an uncanny way of taking a franchise that has been around now for quite some time – its been nearly half a decade since we first saw the Avengers stand together in the Battle of New York – and making it feel fresh and new. They has a hugely beneficial ability to take all its properties and mold them in to a financial theatrical hit. From street-level to cosmic space opera to comedy to the international spy thriller to a classic Superhero vs Superhero all out, no holds barred brawl, Marvel knows just what to do with its characters. It seems the stage is set for Captain America: Civil War to be no exception.
Captain America: Civil War is due for wide release in the United States on May 6th 2016 .
