Marvel appears to have found a way to keep the Avengers in the conversation even when there is no new film in theatres yet. The studio's current strategy has stretched the anticipation for Avengers: Doomsday across multiple releases, formats and platforms, giving fans several reasons to revisit the MCU before the film itself arrives.
That momentum has been particularly visible in theatres. Avengers: Endgame Encore, the upcoming re-release of the 2019 blockbuster, has already generated 77 million views for its trailer in its first 24 hours, according to Deadline, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day has recently given Marvel another major theatrical win. On Disney+, Marvel Studios titles also recorded more than 420 million viewing hours in August, a record for the studio, with the figure representing an increase of more than 200 million hours.
The strategy appears to be paying off for Avengers: Doomsday. The film has now crossed $50 million in domestic ticket pre-sales, despite being more than three months away from its December 18 release. The figure follows an earlier $40 million milestone, which noted that the film had reached that mark roughly 100 days before its theatrical debut.
A significant portion of the early demand is also coming from Infinity Vision, Marvel's premium large-format offering for the film. More than 70% of the current pre-sales are reportedly coming from Infinity Vision screenings. The premium-format strategy is particularly notable given that Doomsday will face Dune: Part Three at the box office on December 18, with the latter retaining an exclusive run in IMAX while Doomsday has access to other large-format screens.
The early pace is also putting Doomsday ahead of another recent Marvel event film. Its pre-sales are reportedly running about 65% ahead of Spider-Man: Brand New Day at a comparable stage, according to early tracking. With tickets already generating $50 million and several weeks of marketing still ahead, Marvel's next Avengers film is building its box-office story well before it actually reaches theatres.