After a 2026 marked by irregularities and alternating currents, it seems that Disney is set to end the year on a high. The long-awaited ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ has already surpassed $50 million in the United States box office more than three months before its release. The reason is none other than the ticket pre-sales, which for this film began sooner—much sooner—than is typical.
And while the film will debut on December 18, 2026, this year we are witnessing a new cinema phenomenon driven by premium formats. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey hasn’t only been an unprecedented crowd-pleaser; it’s also broken box office records: shot in 70mm IMAX, the cinemas that offered it in its original format didn’t just manage the higher-priced tickets, they also watched their auditoriums fill months in advance, sometimes with fans scheduling trips from other countries.
These premium theatres are also much rarer than regular screens, so audiences rush to book early to avoid missing their seat in the days following the premiere.
Competing Against ‘Dune’ and Disney Itself
In the case of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ there are two additional special phenomena. On the one hand, the film will have to compete with ‘Dune 3’, which opens on the same day. Moreover, the third installment of the Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya saga has been shot for the first time in Imax 70mm (as The Odyssey) and has secured exclusive rights to this format in the United States during its opening week and the following two weeks.
On the other hand, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ marks the launch of Infinity Vision, which is Disney’s answer to Imax, creating its own badge to certify theaters with special features. In the case of Infinity Vision, it is estimated that there are 75 cinemas in the United States that have already earned this badge, a number that could grow by December.
The aim is primarily financial, since the idea is that Infinity Vision theatres charge the higher ticket price than regular screenings, in addition to appealing to the film’s most dedicated fans.
And whereas Imax requires special cameras during filming and different projectors in the theatres, for a cinema to obtain the Infinity Vision certification it only needs to have a screen longer than 14 meters, Dolby Surround 7.1 sound, Dolby Atmos or similar, and a brightness level exceeding a certain threshold. Three features that are considerably more attainable than Imax’s standards.
In the case of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, by the way, 70% of the pre-sales correspond to Infinity Vision venues.
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