With “Avengers”-level opening numbers in its crosshairs, “Captian America: Civil War” is on a warpath to beat its own record within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it opens this weekend in the U.S. and Canada.
The studio set estimates at $175 million, in line with many predictions from analysts who spoke with TheWrap. But some expect the Cap sequel will easily break above $200 million.
“I think it could become one of the top three opening weekends of all time,” predicted ComScore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. That would mean “Civil War” would have to beat the first weekend of 2012’s “The Avengers,” which brought in $207.4 million domestically when it opened.
“If all goes well, the only thing that’s going to hurt Disney is Disney itself,” observed Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock, noting the ongoing success of the studio’s “Jungle Book” movie. “They’re going to run into themselves many times this year. That’s not gonna stop.”
Featuring an epic fight between Captain America and Iron Man, the comic book film has most of the Avengers back in action. The interesting twist has infighting among the group on full display.
The reviews have been more than solid, with its current Rotten Tomatoes score of 93 percent representing the best-received film of the entire Cap series.
Add the respective debuts of both Spider-Man and Black Panther in the film — plus an epic fight scene that already has audiences buzzing — and “Captain America” is looking to become unstoppable.