Avengers: Infinity War is looking like a monster, according to Fandango pre-sales

If pre-ordered tickets are any indication, Avengers: Infinity War is going to drop a bomb on box offices once it premieres April 27. All this on the heels of Black Panther, which broke $1 billion in global revenue last weekend and set a record for February premieres.

Fandango sent up the alarm on Friday when tickets went on pre-sale following the big reveal of the newest trailer yesterday. But Fandango did not share whole numbers (or revenue) of ticket sales, only that Infinity War had outsold flicks like Black Panther, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in pre-sold tickets, which apparently are a thing now.

Black Panther’s opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. trailed only The Avengers (the 2012 franchise debut) among super hero flicks for a weekend debut. So it’s possible that hype, marketing, ticket pre-sales, the same superheroes, stars and stories all together, mean that Infinity War is gonna bust that wide open.

Black Panther is a smidge different because, despite the character’s evident appeal and a lineage going back to 1966, he’s never been on the same promotional tier as Captain America, Spider-Man or Iron Man. The Avengers are a lot more familiar, and Infinity War will be a capstone flick involving a lot of heroes whom fans have come to know over the past six years.

Fandango said that, of 1,000 viewers it surveyed, 87 percent had seen all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and 71 percent had seen Black Panther. Significantly, 60 percent said Black Panther fired them up to see Infinity War. So, who knows how far the MCU’s next big picture can go for Disney, especially one so full of ultimate themes. This bears watching.