For the past month, the box office has been driven by a global appetite for beloved Marvel characters and epic filmmaking on Imax 70mm with “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey.” This holiday season, a similar trend is expected to occur with Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Doomsday” and Warner Bros./Legendary’s “Dune: Part Three.” The foundation is already being laid for an epic “Doomsday.”
This weekend, Disney opened up advance tickets for “Avengers: Doomsday” a whopping four months in advance, timing the sales to the public release of a sneak peek first shown at San Diego Comic-Con last month and at D23 this weekend. The studio had previously launched premium format presales in July, selling admissions for 1,000 screens.
For comparison, advance ticket sales for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” began 45 days before release, culminating in a domestic record $360 million opening weekend and a global opening of $927 million — second only to “Avengers: Endgame” on the all-time list.
But after just two days of presales, sources say “Avengers: Doomsday” is approximately 65% ahead of the pace set by the first two days of presales for “Brand New Day.” Between the rave fan reception for the latest “Spider-Man” film and the excitement of seeing Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the anticipation for a new “Avengers” movie is strong among devoted and lapsed fans alike.
There are a few caveats to note, of course. Because no major blockbusters has started advance ticket sales for general theaters this early, comparisons to other films will remain very inexact. Usually, advance ticket buying begins with a flurry from fans that are excited enough for a film to set an appointment to see it weeks in advance. Then sales decline for some time, until they pick back up in the last week or two before release. There’s no telling how advance tickets for “Doomsday” will sell going forward, given the gap between initial presale start and the release date is measure in months rather than weeks.
But the year-long hype buildup that began with a teaser announcing Evans’ return in front of “Avatar: Fire and Ash” last December is paying off massively for Disney and Marvel Studios, showing that the promised return of popular characters and the prospect of seeing Downey, who launched the MCU with “Iron Man,” take on a new role as one of Marvel’s most powerful villains is enough to override whatever negative feelings fans may have towards the franchise recent offerings.
After a 2025 in which “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts*” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” had a combined gross that amounted to less than the $1.33 billion global run of “Deadpool & Wolverine” the year prior, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “Avengers: Doomsday” hold a strong chance to both gross more than $2 billion worldwide. “Brand New Day” crossed that mark on Sunday after just three weekends in theaters; it’s on its way to grossing $2.5 billion by the end of its run. If “Doomsday” follows through on its hype with excellent word-of-mouth, it may be able to capitalize on what the presales have indicate is a very re-engaged fanbase for a historic run of its own.
As for “Dune: Part Three,” there is a good chance that it too may be able to thrive, even in Doctor Doom’s shadow. Wide presales have not yet begun for the final chapter in Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy, but they have started for 38 theaters that, like “The Odyssey,” will be showing the film in Imax 70mm.
Those who saw “The Odyssey” in the ultra-premium format were treated to a special sneak peek of the opening of “Dune 3,” with the Fremen forces marching on a rainy planet to do battle in the name of their emperor Paul Atreides. While “Doomsday” will promote other premium formats through Disney’s Infinity Vision campaign, “Dune: Part Three” will have Imax theaters exclusively through the holidays.
According to theatrical sources, those Imax 70mm screenings are already seeing dozens of sellouts on the film’s opening weekend and could see continued high demand for round-the-clock showtimes, through Christmas weekend and beyond.
It is probably too much of an ask for “Dune: Part Three” to match the run of “The Odyssey,” which will pass $1.3 billion worldwide on Monday. But if critical and audience reception for the film is as strong as it was for “Dune: Part Two” in 2024, it could ride the holiday period to become the highest grossing installment of the trilogy, passing its predecessor’s $714 million global total.
Disney and Warner Bros. declined to comment for this story.
