It comes as no surprise that everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has created over the past 10 years has led up to this very moment, when 22 superheroes assemble to wage war on the box office and set in motion a new pre-sales record in the UAE.
The much awaited Avengers: Infinity War, which hits 200 plus screens in the country on April 26, has already smashed previous box office records in the country without once wielding Thor’s mighty hammer to tip the scales in its favour, according to Middle East distributor Italia Film.
“The widest release of a film in the UAE averages 170 screens, which was commanded by The Fate of The Furious [the eight instalment in the franchise] when it released in cinemas last year,” revealed a spokesperson from Italia Film in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!. “In comparison, Avengers: Infinity War’s release easily crosses 200 screens, with a final count only confirmed a day ahead of its release.”
BUMPER PRE-SALES
According to Italia Film, ticket pre-sales for the Walt Disney Studios release have already crossed 14,000 in the first five weeks since the box office opened for the superhero action-adventure. But, industry insiders say, the final push usually comes in 48 hours before a film’s release in the UAE on Thursdays.
“If you compare The Fate of the Furious, which holds the record for ticket pre-sales in the UAE, the film sold shy of 5,000 tickets in the first five weeks, compared to the 14,000 that Avengers: Infinity War sold over the same period,” revealed Italia Film. “The final push for the Fast and Furious franchise came about in week six, two days before it went on general release, selling 19 per cent of its overall tally on the Tuesday, while 36 per cent was sold over Wednesday. The final pre-sale figure reached 31,000 tickets overall.”
The spokesperson continued: “We expect that same level of acceleration with the new Avengers. The first five days of week six has already reaching 21,000 in pre-sales. If we follow the same trend, between Tuesday and Wednesday, this number will rise contributing to 55 to 60 per cent of overall pre-sales.”
FAN MANIA
Local exhibitor Vox Cinemas is releasing Avengers: Infinity War across 160 screens across 31 locations, with a new show starting every 30 minutes at Mall of the Emirates. Such is the frenzy that the exhibitor will host its first show of the weekend at 7.15am and the last show at 2.45am in IMAX. At City Centre Deira, the earliest show starts at 8.15am, while Nation Towers, Abu Dhabi, will see the Marvel film screen on seven screens with shows starting every 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Novo Cinemas has stated it is bracing itself for a bumper weekend across all of its locations with the release of Avengers: Infinity War.
According to Novo, the film has already sold thousands of advanced tickets to film fans across the region, without revealing a final tally. The showcaser has further stated that large-scale screenings of the franchise continues to be a top draw considering Avengers: Infinity War has been shot entirely using IMAX cameras. This allows the film to expand vertically to show up to 26 per cent more of the image in select screens in the UAE.
The global fan frenzy for the Marvel film is also poised to outrun Black Panther, with US-based mobile-ticketing platform Fandango stating last week that Avengers: Infinity War was outselling the past MCU seven movies — combined — in pre-sale tickets.
With its American release date a day after the UAE, the superhero outing is already on track to gross as much as $200 million (Dh734.47 million) in its domestic debut, according to early industry projections. Fandango further stated that Avengers: Infinity War sold more than twice what Black Panther — the year’s highest-grossing movie — was at the same point before release.
Meanwhile, India is also expecting a bumper opening for the Marvel franchise, fuelled by the fact that no big Bollywood film is scheduled for release weekend, what with Rajinikanth’s Kaala now deferred to June from its original April 27 outing.
Adding to its box office tally in India is the fact that Avengers: Infinity War is releasing in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
According to industry numbers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grossed $14.8 billion globally before adjusting for inflation.
The latest outing, which is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, will see superheroes Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Spiderman combine their might — with a little help from the Guardians of the Galaxy — to take on supervillain Thanos and thwart his plans to conquer the universe with the Infinity Stones.
Avengers eye Saudi Arabia
According to Italia Film, Avengers: Infinity War is likely to make its way into Saudi Arabian cinemas after it passes through the censors in the country. No date for the film’s release in the Kingdom has yet been announced.
On April 18, Saudi Arabia made history by lifting the 35-year ban on cinemas in the Kingdom with release of Disney’s Black Panther.
In December’s landmark decision between the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) and the American theatrical exhibitor AMC, 30-40 cinemas are expected to open in approximately 15 cities in the Kingdom over the next five years, and a total of 50-100 cinemas in approximately 25 Saudi Arabian cities by the year 2030.
Other players in the market are expected to raise that number to nearly 350 cinemas, with more than 2,500 screens by 2030.
Check it out!
Avengers: Infinity War releases in select cinemas for late night screening on April 25 in the UAE, before going on general release on April 26
