PPZVGOS

I can see your logic, and you are probably right. But, to be the devil's advocate, isn't it likely that after such monstrous OW numbers, a massive decline is in store?

Absolutely. People (including me) were desperate to see it ASAP so they could avoid the inevitable spoilers on social media, or even on TV and from friends etc...

Really? What makes you say that?

Does it have the necessary word of mouth? Because w/o superb word of mouth, that is not remotely possible.

What we do for love!

I am expecting the opposite. People around the world seem to be ever more hooked on everything MCU. It's the gift that keep on giving.

Thanos is such a compelling villain, because just like Darth Vader is motivated by an inner passion and sense of purpose that almost no "good guy" is ever allowed to have in Hollywood movies. This is why The Empire Strikes Back & Infinity War are two of the best fantasy films ever and absolute benchmarks for their respective genres.

When I was a teen, I wanted to believe that ROTJ is just a flawed masterpiece, that it was just the Ewoks that spoil an otherwise great Star Wars movie. But no, ROTJ is bad overall, almost Prequel Trilogy bad.

You are definitely in the extreme minority. Edit: Endgame "miles better" than Infinity War? Thinking about your statement yet again, yes, you are the only one.

Has any movie ever jumped from 3 to 7 million from Monday to Tuesday?

I agree 1000%

That's my point, we have had several obscure superheroes being massive hits in recent years (GotG, Aquaman, Venom etc etc) It has been hit after hit after hit for SH movies, almost regardless of character popularity or reviews. Now, despite the fact that Shazam seems to be getting excellent reviews, the early numbers indicate a relative disappointment. I am pointing out the fact that Shazam seems to be a trend-breaker.

So, maybe there's a limit to how much money can be made out of obscure superheroes?

So, there's no way for WE to surpass WW2?

BO runs such as that of Titanic were extremely uncommon in the 90s as well. The only movies with ultra-leggy runs (but at a much smaller scale) from that era that I can now think of were: a) As Good As it Gets, b) Good Will Hunting, c) There's Something About Mary, d) Scream. Also, Forrest Gump from 1994 can be considered the next best thing after Titanic and maybe also The Sixth Sense.

Okay, neither of us has a crystal ball. Maybe you are right and I am wrong. Maybe also somehow Episode 9 is great and takes theaters by storm, but if I had to bet, I would say that it won't do that well, meaning that it will gross even less than SW8. I hope we are here this time next year and see what happens then.

The Last Jedi did immense damage, damage that no Jar-Jar or clunky one-liners could ever do. This was reflected in Solo's BO, and will be reflected again and more emphatically with Episode 9. You can quote me on this in a year's time.

No way is SW9 going over $600M. Massive damage has already been done to that franchise. It's coming a lot lower than most are expecting.

Gonna watch Bird Box right now. Sounds interesting.

Not only are SH movies a genre, they are a very narrow one at that. The good thing about this narrow genre though, is that it can be combined with elements from other genres with ease. Also, there is so much existing material from decades of comic books, which makes it easier to pitch more and more movies.

Suddenly, it's looking very good for the DCEU. Should they just bring back Cavil & Affleck?

The underlying trend with SH movies is clear. There is absolutely nothing to suggest a turnaround anytime soon. Of course nobody has a crystal ball, and consumer preferences do change, but as things stand, SH movies look like the best bet for many years to come. People have been predicting a superhero fatigue for more than a decade now, and all that has happened is that SH movies have become even more insanely popular all over the world. These are the facts.

All evidence points towards sustained popularity for SH movies. The need studios have for franchises, plus the extensive material provided by decades of comic books, plus ever more potent CGI are the 3 factors contributing to this perfect storm. The thing is that the popularity of SH movies just keeps on growing all over the planet. This will be the major genre for many, many years to come.

Hollywood seems to be having a banner year in 2018, despite there not being too many tent-pole releases. A Quiet Place, Halloween, Venom, The Meg, A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Rich Asians, The Nun have all over-performed or massively over-performed. Also, Jurassic World 2, Deadpool 2, Mission Impossible 6, Ant-Man & The Wasp have all performed close to high expectations. Infinity War somehow managed to exceed stratospheric expectations. As for Black Panther & The Incredibles 2, well, I think that no comment is required. Question is, can Hollywood really take things to the next level next year with its endless stream of high-profile releases?

The Firm is my favorite example when differentiating between the current era of BO (almost totally reliant on SH movies & animation) and that of the 80s and 90s, when star power was a massive factor. It also demonstrates how absolutely immense Cruise's popularity was back then. His mere presence in a movie made it a blockbuster.