It's official - Avengers: Endgame has become the number one highest grossing film of all time.* At $2.790 BILLION, Endgame has just passed Avatar to have the largest grossing film at the box office. Now, the asterisk is for the caveat that this is not adjusted for inflation. If you adjust for inflation, Endgame is only fifth, behind Star Wars, Titanic, Avatar, and the all time champion, Gone With The Wind. It has a long way to go to pass Gone With The Wind, at $3.728 billion.
This achievement joins the list of all the superlatives that the film has earned, making it one of the most successful films of all time. And it's still in the theaters.
Hollywood will still probably learn the wrong lessons. Because it will be a hard trick to repeat. This film is the culmination of ten years of storytelling. Twenty two films leading up to it. A cliffhanger previous film that really served as part one. The ultimate crossover. So much fan service. I doubt even Marvel can repeat itself.
Disney will be undoubtedly comparing how well Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker does this December. I'm sure they will hope that it does as well or better, but that expectation is too much. Particularly with the concerns over Star Wars fatigue with Han Solo.
It will be interesting to see how things progress from here. At San Diego Comic Con, Disney announced the slate of films for Marvel Phase 4. That seems to take things in very different directions. Tomorrow, I'll work through those upcoming films with a few thoughts on what this means for the broader MCU.
Showing posts with label Avengers: Endgame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Avengers: Endgame. Show all posts
Monday, July 22, 2019
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Avengers: Endgame - The Review
Well, when they said Endgame they meant it.
I have to say the film is amazing. Especially as an encapsulation of 11 years worth of storytelling. The gamble of putting a cameo at the end of the credits in Iron Man back in 2008 to say the words "Avengers Initiative" worked and worked spectacularly. This film is a love letter to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe that has been created and to the fans that have supported it.
It's beautiful to see how it pays off moments in the comics and where it diverges from them. The strength of the MCU has always been in taking the best of what works in the comics and staying true to it, but not being afraid to make their own twists and turns along the way.
I cried two and a half times. I audibly cheered and punched the air for at least one moment. In short, this was exactly the movie that I was waiting for.
Is it the greatest movie ever put to film? No. But that is not what it is striving to be. This is the bookend to the first chapter of the Marvel Universe. And it ends with a bang.
A few scattered thoughts:
I have to say the film is amazing. Especially as an encapsulation of 11 years worth of storytelling. The gamble of putting a cameo at the end of the credits in Iron Man back in 2008 to say the words "Avengers Initiative" worked and worked spectacularly. This film is a love letter to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe that has been created and to the fans that have supported it.
It's beautiful to see how it pays off moments in the comics and where it diverges from them. The strength of the MCU has always been in taking the best of what works in the comics and staying true to it, but not being afraid to make their own twists and turns along the way.
I cried two and a half times. I audibly cheered and punched the air for at least one moment. In short, this was exactly the movie that I was waiting for.
Is it the greatest movie ever put to film? No. But that is not what it is striving to be. This is the bookend to the first chapter of the Marvel Universe. And it ends with a bang.
A few scattered thoughts:
- This is definitely not a place to start watching Marvel movies. If you have never seen another Marvel movie, you will be very lost.
- There is one moment that fans have been waiting for since 2012. This was the fist pump moment.
- There is another moment that is a payoff for a bit from 2015.
- There are so many nods to everything throughout the MCU.
- These actors are on the top of their game. There are so many nuanced emotions displayed on the screen. There are a couple that are masterclass moments in how to display emotion. In particular Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, and Jon Favreau.
- There is finally a cameo from the television series and its quite unexpected and perfect.
- The best things about this film is that every development is driven by character. The moments that pay off are defined by character development.
- This film is chock full of cameos and many surprising cameos.
- Stan Lee's final cameo is great.
- It's a great decision not to have a stinger in the credits. It means this is a closing of a chapter.
- The new status quo is interesting. And in the grand Marvel tradition, they've given themselves enough wiggle-room for everything to stick or to change depending on where they want to go.
- The movie is long, but doesn't feel it. There is so much packed in this movie, that it keeps moving and shifting at a brisk pace.
- The payoff is incredible. It moves from one of my favorite shots in the MCU ever, to an epic battle on a scale that has not been shown before.
I still can't believe they did it.
I'm glad they did. And I'm ready to see it again.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Avengers: Endgame Superlatives (No Spoilers, No Review Just Background)
As mentioned yesterday, tonight's the night. I'm finally going to get to see Avengers: Endgame. Jamie is itching for me to see it so we can talk about it. Avalyn did really good as well not talking about anything she saw, though she wanted to.
It's amazing to think what this movie represents. It is the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. This is the 22nd film in the saga. The end of three phases of the Marvel movies. The conclusion of 11 years of storytelling. This truly is the modern Star Wars phenomenon.
These are the movies that catapulted geek/nerd culture into the forefront of pop culture. The ones that made Stan Lee a household name. That led to three network television show spinoffs, five Netflix programs, one Hulu program, and one Freeform program, as well as various cartoons, comics, books and games.
And so far from the reviews, the movie is living up to the weight of expectations that are put on it. Endgame has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 91% audience score. It has even managed an impressive A+ on Cinema Score. The general consensus is that this is a movie that has been worth the wait.
Here are just a few of the superlatives Endgame has earned in its opening weekend alone:
What a great time to be a nerd!
It's amazing to think what this movie represents. It is the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. This is the 22nd film in the saga. The end of three phases of the Marvel movies. The conclusion of 11 years of storytelling. This truly is the modern Star Wars phenomenon.
These are the movies that catapulted geek/nerd culture into the forefront of pop culture. The ones that made Stan Lee a household name. That led to three network television show spinoffs, five Netflix programs, one Hulu program, and one Freeform program, as well as various cartoons, comics, books and games.
And so far from the reviews, the movie is living up to the weight of expectations that are put on it. Endgame has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 91% audience score. It has even managed an impressive A+ on Cinema Score. The general consensus is that this is a movie that has been worth the wait.
Here are just a few of the superlatives Endgame has earned in its opening weekend alone:
- Biggest Domestic Opening of All Time - At $357.1 million (beating the previous record holder by nearly $100 million)
- Biggest International Opening of All Time - $866.5 million (doubling the previous record holder)
- Biggest Worldwide Opening of All Time - $1.224 billion
- Opening at No. 17 on the All-Time Worldwide Box office chart - and climbing
- Largest Thursday Previews - $60 million
- Largest Single Day Gross - $157.4 million
- Largest Opening Day Gross - $157.4 million
- Largest Friday Gross - $157.4 million
- Largest Saturday Gross - $109.3 million
- Largest Sunday Gross - $90.4 million
- Fastest Movie to Earn $1 billion - Reaching the milestone in just FIVE days
- Widest Release of all time - 4,662 theaters
- Widest Opening Release
- Widest PG-13 Release
- Highest Theater Average - at $76,601 per theater
- Biggest Three Day Gross
- Biggest Opening Weekend in April
- Biggest Spring Opening
- Biggest Global 4DX Opening
- Biggest Global 3D Opening
- Biggest IMAX Opening
- Biggest Opening Weekend in Multiple International Markets
- China
- United Kingdom
- Mexico
- Australia
- Germany
- India
- Brazil
- France
- Italy
- the Philippines
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Spain
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- Taiwan
The people have spoken and have done so loudly. Needless to say, Disney and Marvel are quite pleased at the love that has been shown to this film.
Just a little under an hour now. Can't wait to see this film and to come back here tomorrow and share my thoughts.
What a great time to be a nerd!
Friday, March 15, 2019
In Praise of Intermissions
With the upcoming Avengers: Endgame release reported to have a 3 hour run time, rumors have started to surface that the film may include an intermission, or interval. And the discussion has started in earnest, with some praising the decision and others decrying the very nature of intermissions.
Me, I'm completely in favor of adding in an intermission. I want the cinema experience to be an event. I know Avengers: Endgame is three hours in running time, but I want more. I want a Marvel One-Shot short before the main event. I want an overture, I want the intermission, and I want an entr'acte.
Theaters should want this. There needs to be some kind of pomp and circumstance regarding seeing a film in the cinema. Something that makes the cinema experience different than just playing the same movie on a home theater system with surround sound and an ultra high def big screen television. Intermissions add in that unique factor. They also provide a second swing at the concession stand for refills and for new purchases.
I know theaters are not fans of long running movies and would prefer to have shorter features granting them more show times. But if the film is going to be long anyway, having the intermission for a second pass at the snack bar would seem like a good trade.
Jamie and I have sought out a movie experience simply to see something made with an intermission in mind. When The Hateful Eight came out, we made a point of catching it in Austin so we could see the roadshow production with the overture and the intermission. And it was worth it. The film was created as an epic and it deserved that kind of treatment.
Endgame does as well. And I say bring it on. Let's making this a fitting capstone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. It's the culmination of 21 films preceding it.
Let's give it the royal treatment it deserves.
Me, I'm completely in favor of adding in an intermission. I want the cinema experience to be an event. I know Avengers: Endgame is three hours in running time, but I want more. I want a Marvel One-Shot short before the main event. I want an overture, I want the intermission, and I want an entr'acte.
Theaters should want this. There needs to be some kind of pomp and circumstance regarding seeing a film in the cinema. Something that makes the cinema experience different than just playing the same movie on a home theater system with surround sound and an ultra high def big screen television. Intermissions add in that unique factor. They also provide a second swing at the concession stand for refills and for new purchases.
I know theaters are not fans of long running movies and would prefer to have shorter features granting them more show times. But if the film is going to be long anyway, having the intermission for a second pass at the snack bar would seem like a good trade.
Jamie and I have sought out a movie experience simply to see something made with an intermission in mind. When The Hateful Eight came out, we made a point of catching it in Austin so we could see the roadshow production with the overture and the intermission. And it was worth it. The film was created as an epic and it deserved that kind of treatment.
Endgame does as well. And I say bring it on. Let's making this a fitting capstone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. It's the culmination of 21 films preceding it.
Let's give it the royal treatment it deserves.
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