Captain Marvel has already resuscitated the box office and it was only preview night. The highly anticipated Marvel entry took Thursday preview numbers by storm and it should be the start to a very lucrative weekend.
Captain Marvel grossed $20.7 million last night from shows that started at 6 PM. Among Thursday Marvel previews that’s the fifth best after Avengers: Infinity War ($39 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($27.6 million), Black Panther ($25.2 million), and Captain America: Civil War ($25 million).
Disney has wisely timed Marvel’s first female superhero movie to open on Women’s Day today in 4,310 theaters. I predicted an opening of $150 million and many insiders are saying that the preview gross suggests an opening north of $140 million so my prediction be very close. Spring breaks are also starting up as well with ComScore showing 6% K-12 and 13% colleges off today, numbers which will grow to respectively 18% and 33% by Monday.
In weeks of box office that has underwhelmed, with the exception of How To Train Your Dragon 3, this shows that moviegoers will flock to the theater if the product is worth their time.
