Last Updated: May 17

Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War is breaking all sorts of box office records - and it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon. The 2018 superhero team-up film - directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and based on a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely - is undoubtedly one of the biggest movies ever to grace the silver screen. It's billed as the beginning of the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first saga that began with the original Iron Man movie way back in 2008.

Although it's technically the first part of a two-part story, Avengers: Infinity War successfully unites virtually every major MCU character from across the shared universe as well as intersects storylines that span more than a dozen movies. It's a rather unprecedented feat in filmmaking and a true achievement in that regard, despite what one may think of the movie itself. Because of that - and because the movie unites the Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the Guardians of the Galaxy against the Mad Titan Thanos - Avengers: Infinity War has taken off and broken several records in its path at both the domestic and worldwide box office.

Avengers: Infinity War Broke Black Panther's Presale Ticket Record

Avengers: Infinity War surpassed the last seven Marvel movies combined in terms of presale tickets sold. That meant passing Ryan Coogler's Black Panther, which was the previous record-holder for most number of tickets presold for a superhero movie on Fandango. Sure, that may seem like a specific record, but most tickets are presold on Fandango and the sheer number of superhero movies hitting the market means there are a lot of properties to compete with. Plus, AMC also stated that Infinity War's presale tickets had surpassed Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron by more than 1,000 percent, which itself was more than 250 percent than Black Panther.

Avengers: Infinity War Set MCU Thursday Record

Considering that Avengers: Infinity War broke all presale ticket records, it makes sense that it would also set the record for Thursday night previews for an MCU movie. Avengers 3 grossed $39 million on Thursday, April 26, which was then factored into its single Friday gross. That number easily puts Infinity War past Avengers: Age of Ultron's previous record of $27.6 million that it set in 2015. The next movie that would logically break that record, if it's even possible, is the Russo Brothers' Avengers 4, due out in theaters in May 2019. That would be a nice way to keep the record streak going for the Avengers films.

Avengers: Infinity War Sets Single Saturday Gross Record

Avengers: Infinity War had the highest-grossing Saturday of all-time despite second for the highest-grossing Friday slot. Infinity War pulled in an astonishing $82.1 million on Saturday, April 28, which was technically its second official day of release in the United States. That number is significantly higher than the competition, too: Jurassic World ($69.64 million), Marvel's The Avengers ($69.57 million), Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($68.29 million), and Black Panther ($65.99 million). Granted, none of these numbers take into account ticket price inflation, but even so, Infinity War has a comfortable lead above every other movie to not worry.

Avengers: Infinity War Sets Single Sunday Gross Record

Avengers: Infinity War kept its record-breaking streak going over its opening weekend by taking the top spot on Sunday, April 29, as well. Infinity War grossed $69.23 million to pass Star Wars: The Force Awakens' opening Sunday gross of $60.55 million. Again, even though box office records don't take ticket price inflation into account for many, many reasons, Infinity War would still hold the record for highest-grossing single Sunday at the domestic box office if the numbers were adjusted for ticket price inflation, albeit not by as much as some people might think.

Page 2 of 3: Avengers: Infinity War Opening Weekend & First Week Records

Avengers: Infinity War Sets Domestic Opening Weekend Record

Avengers: Infinity War surpassed all expectations and broke the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend at the domestic box office. Infinity War grossed a whopping $257.6 million over its opening weekend, from Thursday night late shows through Sunday. That puts the film at just about $10 million higher than 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which earned $247.96 million. In third place is 2017's Star Wars: The Last Jedi with an impressive $220 million. Given that Infinity War is an unprecedented event - and that it received the second widest release in film history - it's unlikely that any future movie could top the new record, but still, anything's possible.

Avengers: Infinity War Sets Worldwide Opening Weekend Record

Avengers: Infinity War didn't just set the domestic opening weekend record, it also broke the record for the highest-grossing weekend at the worldwide box office. From its global opening on Wednesday, April 25, to Sunday, April 29, Infinity War grossed $640.5 million by opening in most international markets at the same time. That number is almost $100 million higher than The Fate of the Furious' previous record, $541.9 million. Infinity War could've grossed even higher if it had released in China over its opening weekend (it releases there on May 11) - an increasingly important market for superhero films, especially MCU movies that tend to do quite well in the country.

Avengers: Infinity War Sets Single Monday Record For April

After breaking the domestic and worldwide opening weekend records, Avengers: Infinity War broke the single Monday record for the month of April. While that may not sound like much, many blockbuster movies are starting to release earlier and earlier, which means there's increased competition in April and even March. By taking in $25.2 million on Monday, April 30, Infinity War was able to surpass 2015's Furious 7, which previously held the record with $14 million. In terms of the overall single Monday grosses, however, Infinity War comes in 10th place, whereas Black Panther sits in first with $40.151 million and Star Wars: The Force Awakens in second with $40.109 million.

Avengers: Infinity War Breaks MCU's Single Tuesday Record

Avengers: Infinity War scored the highest-grossing Tuesday for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie with $23.42 million on Tuesday, May 1. That record was recently broken by Black Panther when it grossed $20.85 million on February 20. However, Infinity War is still in seventh place for the highest-grossing single Tuesday when looking at the whole picture. Star Wars: The Force Awakens remains in first place with $37.36 million and then again in the third place with $29.58 million. The Amazing Spider-Man is in second place with $35 million, mostly because the film opened earlier in the week to make the July 4 holiday weekend in 2012. Transformers ($27.8 million), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($27.7 million), and Jurassic World ($24.3 million) come in fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively.

Avengers: Infinity War Ties For Fastest To $300 Million Domestically

Avengers: Infinity War is outperforming expectations at the domestic box office, and it's proven just that by tying Star Wars: The Force Awakens for first place for fastest to $300 million domestically. Infinity War crossed the $300 million threshold in just five days, matching The Force Awakens' record from 2015. However, considering that The Force Awakens made $325 million in five days and Infinity War made $305 million, the 2018 Avengers film is still technically in second place for the record, even though the number of days remains the same. Moreover, Infinity War tied The Force Awakens for fastest to $100, $150, and $200 million as well but beat the Star Wars film for fastest to $250 million by one day; it took Avengers three days instead of four.

Avengers: Infinity War Scores MCU's Best Single Wednesday

Black Panther Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War took in another $16.7 million at the domestic box office on Wednesday, May 2, thus giving Marvel Studios their best single Wednesday gross ever. Black Panther previously held the record with $14.68 million, but Infinity War managed to narrowly top that gross. Interestingly, an estimated $16.7 million, though a substantial sum, is still much lower than the top movies. Overall, that gross puts Avengers 3 in 34th place, right behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($16.8 million) and in front of Avatar ($16.4 million). If we don't count movies that opened mid-week, however, then Infinity War comes in 13th place, again behind The Last Jedi and in front of Avatar - both for their first Wednesdays of release.

Page 3 of 3: Avengers: Infinity War Second Week & Miscellaneous Records

Avengers: Infinity War Crosses $1 Billion In Record Time

Avengers: Infinity War crossing $1 billion at the worldwide box office was a forgone conclusion long before the movie even hit theaters. However, how fast it crossed that threshold was a different story. Thanks to an unprecedented amount of hype and stellar reviews, as well as the fact that Infinity War had the second widest release in the U.S. in film history and that it released in more than 50 markets at once (something past MCU films haven't done), Avengers 3 managed to cross $1 billion in just 11 days! That's one day less than Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which crossed $1 billion globally in 12 days when it released in December 2015. Considering that Avengers 4 is still on the horizon, perhaps that movie will be able to break Infinity War's record in 2019.

Avengers: Infinity War Sets Russia Opening Day Record

Thor on a space ship in Avengers: Infinity War

Marvel movies always do well internationally - and that notion was proven when Avengers: Infinity War broke Russia's opening day record on Thursday, May 3. Avengers 3 grossed $4.9 million in a single day, thus setting a new record for the country, which also happens to be the 12th largest film-going market in the world. Note that the record only applies to Russia; the number is still far lower than other opening day numbers for the entire Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which is usually how Russia's box office receipts are reported. But, clearly, Infinity War is a special case given its immense popularity. Considering its opening day numbers, it's possible that the movie will make at least $25 million throughout the full weekend, thru Sunday.

Avengers: Infinity War Scores MCU's Highest-Grossing Second Weekend

Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War Finale

Blockbuster movies tend to have massive opening weekends and then taper off rather quickly, with only the best of the best movies continuing their high-grossing streaks for multiple weeks. Avengers: Infinity War falls into the latter category as it not only set the highest-grossing opening weekend of all-time at the domestic box office but also set the Marvel Cinematic Universe's highest-grossing second weekend. Avengers 3 grossed an estimated $112.4 million domestically over its second weekend, thus narrowly beating Black Panther's previous record of $111.6 million. Interestingly, Infinity War saw a relatively standard 56.4 percent drop between its first and second weekends whereas Black Panther had only a 44.7 percent drop. Furthermore, Star Wars: The Force Awakens still holds the record for having the highest-grossing second weekend with $149.2 million.

Avengers: Infinity War Shatters China Presale Records

Avengers: Infinity War released in most major markets on April 27, but its China release date was pushed to May 11. And just like what happened with presale records leading up to its domestic release, Infinity War shattered China's presale record. The film amassed $47.5 million in presale tickets as of May 9, thus passing the previous record-holder, Monster Hunt 2, which garnered $47 million in presale tickets earlier this year. Furthermore, Infinity War has already long passed 2017's The Fate of the Furious, which held presale tickets record for a Hollywood film with $25 million.

Because of the amount of people lining up to see Avengers 3, it seems the movie will surely beat Avengers: Age of Ultron's massive gross of $240 million, which it will certainly need in order to hit its projected $2 billion gross. However, while Infinity War had three weeks unchallenged at the U.S. box office, it will only have one week in China before Paramount Pictures' A Quiet Place releases on May 18. Sure, that film may not seem like a big competitor, but it was a sleeper hit domestically and could rake in hefty sums in the Middle Kingdom as well.

Avengers: Infinity War Sets MCU Opening Day Record in China

Avengers Infinity War Box Office China

Avengers: Infinity War is, unsurprisingly, off to a strong start at the Chinese box office. Continuing off its presale tickets record in the country, Infinity War nabbed ¥451 million on Friday (including the Thursday night previews), which roughly translates to just over $71.3 million. That is the third-biggest opening day for a movie in the Middle Kingdom, falling behind the previously mentioned The Fate of the Furious (¥480) and Monster Hunt 2 (¥547 million).

However, even though Avengers 3 earned less than The Fate of the Furious, it still earned more when the money is exchanged into U.S. dollars due to varying exchange rates. So, Avengers ended up earning approximately $6 million more than the Fast & Furious movie did last year. Regardless, it's clear that Marvel's latest film is off to a strong start at the Chinese box office and should pull in hundreds of millions of dollars to get the movie past that $2 billion mark.

Avengers: Infinity War is the Highest-Grossing Superhero Movie Ever

Avengers: Infinity War is now the highest-grossing superhero movie of all-time at the worldwide box office, surpassing the very first Avengers movie, which grossed $1.518 billion in 2012 (unadjusted for ticket price inflation, of course). Thanks to an incredible $202 million opening weekend gross in China - which is the second-highest release in China based on the nation's local currency - as well as an additional $61+ million domestically, Infinity War accumulated enough money ($1.6 billion, as of the time of this writing) to blast past some of the top-grossing movies of all-time over its third weekend of release, including two 2017 films: Black Panther ($1.341 billion) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($1.332 billion). Aside from obvious anticipation and intrigue, one of the reasons Avengers: Infinity War was able to amass such a high opening weekend gross is because it released on a record-breaking 203,000 screens in China, of which 514 were in IMAX.

Avengers: Infinity War is Highest-Grossing Summer Release Ever

Avengers: Infinity War is already the highest-grossing superhero movie ever, as well as one of the top-grossing movies ever made, but it just recently overtook Jurassic World to become the highest-grossing summer release of all-time in the United States. The film grossed $1.686 billion as of May 16, which puts it above Jurassic World's 2015 gross of $1.672 billion (unadjusted for ticket price inflation). Of course, Avengers 3's theatrical run is far from over, which means it can still climb much, much higher - both domestically and internationally. But, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom releasing this year, can Infinity War hold onto its new record?

More: The Biggest Stories We’ve Written on Avengers: Infinity War

Key Release Dates