Avengers Endgame is set to hit theaters this weekend, and it is going to be huge. With a projected pull of over $800 million in its first weekend it will not only be the biggest for Marvel Studios but of any film, ever. It is projected to crush several records but the one we will be focusing on is the biggest worldwide opening weekend ever.
Now, it begs the question, where does Marvel go from here? The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building for over 10 years and almost two dozen movies. The movies have been huge financial payoffs for Marvel and Disney. Like any business year over year growth is expected, and so far Marvel has not disappointed with the continued success of the movies. But after movies like last years Avengers Infinity War and this years even bigger Endgame, where is the company to go from here. Yes, they will be entering Phase 4 of the sets of films (Spiderman Far From Home being announced to be the official end of Phase 3).
It took this long to build to a preceived “end.” Which it will then continue on but losing characters and adding new ones, such as Captain Marvel. But will it be able to grow any further? Is it going to set up another set of phases to build to another climax (such as Secret Wars as the Ruso Brothers have hinted at) in 8-10 years? Is it even possible to add more growth at the worldwide box office?
It seems something is going to have to change in order for that to become possible. In fact, it has been talked about how the long run time for Endgame could hurt its box office records. Longer run time, means less daily screenings, less screenings at each theater added up over the aggregate means less maximum possible revenue. Theaters have been countering this because of such a high demand they have been scheduling screenings at 4 in the morning and at all hours.
But once the audience experiences this and evaluates it, will it want to do that again in the future? If it is not for another 8-10 years and it builds up again, then I say yeah it is possible. Marvel will have to use new markets such as Disney+ and everything at their disposal to continue this growth in a progressive and stable way. Either that or find new ways to make money in the opening weekend and entire theatrical run. How to create growth when it appears the markets worldwide are at the max? It is a difficult problem to solve, but definitely a good one to have.
Keep an eye on Marvel over the next 2 years. They will be telling now more than ever as to how the audience is ready for more and is not looking for something different. Fortunately Marvel has varied the movies in style and story to not become boring. I hope they keep it up.
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