Marvel’s AVENGERS: ENDGAME was a prime example of a Superhero-driven, pre-pandemic blockbuster, propelling the 2019 Boxoffice to record results.

With the pandemic winding down and moviegoers back in theatres, we’re seeing big grosses again, but looking back at AVENGERS: ENDGAME, which premiered in L.A. on Apr. 22, 2019, and then opened to $357.1M, it shows how times have changed.

Disney/Marvel’s ENDGAME ticket sales certainly weren’t typical for their day, but its boxoffice impact left Hollywood thinking the sky was, indeed, the limit to what a film could gross that delivered what moviegoers really wanted to see. Now with Disney/Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS tracking through the roof, there’s hope it will arrive May 6 in line with Sony/Marvel’s $260.1M opening of SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME last December.

ENDGAME’s domestic impact began even before its phenomenal debut. As soon as Fandango and Atom Tickets started selling seats, it became their biggest pre-sale title ever and crashed both websites. With so many sold-out shows, AMC, Regal & Cinemark quickly added overnight screenings to accommodate moviegoer demand.

ENDGAME, which reportedly cost $350-400M to produce, hit $2.790B worldwide in July 2019. It became the all-time top-grossing movie (not adjusted for inflation) by edging past 20th Century Fox’s 2009 epic AVATAR with $2.789B. After a re-release in China, AVATAR regained the boxoffice crown in March 2021. Today, with $2.847B, it’s slightly ahead of ENDGAME’s $2.798B.

Originally, ENDGAME was to be called AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, PART II, and 2018’s AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR was to be AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, PART I. Both films were to be directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, but they told different stories. Marvel decided to give them their own identities, according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, because despite their shared elements he didn’t feel they were  “one story that’s cut in half. I would say it’s going to be two distinct movies.”

The film’s first trailer, released on Dec. 7, 2018, made it official that ENDGAME was the title. The studio made the most of it by calling that trailer “Marvel Studios‘ Avengers – Official Trailer,” without actually mentioning the title so as to surprise fans by revealing ENDGAME at the very end.

ENDGAME’s domestic release date was to have been May 3, but it was moved to April 26 just as Marvel had done with INFINITY WAR, which opened Apr. 27, 2018. Those date changes reportedly were meant to keep key storyline points from leaking after earlier international showings.

“This universe is finite. Its resources, finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction.” – Thanos

On Friday, the highly-anticipated Official Selections of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival were unveiled by festival organizers.  This year’s slate includes a diverse range of work, including films from acclaimed filmmakers including Claire Denis and Ethan Cohn as well as premieres for Hollywood blockbusters such as ELVIS and TOP-GUN: MAVERICK.  Many of Europe’s best-known filmmakers will also have their work represented at Cannes.

The 47 films in this year’s competition represent various storylines, including buzz surrounding previous Palme D’Or winners such as Cristian Mungiu and Ruben Ostlund.  Indie distributor A24, flush with an injection of new investment and a $2.5B valuation, is present with multiple titles.  Cannes’ favorite filmmaker David Cronenburg will premiere his latest CRIMES OF THE FUTURE, his first new feature in eight years.  Russian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa will showcase his WWII documentary THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DESTRUCTION.

See also IndieWire’s excellent rundown of Cannes 2022 films in which Erik Kohn brings forth many of the storylines heading into this year’s festival, the 75^th edition of the storied event.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is emerging as another feel-good story at the box office.  Made independently by the directing duo of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known as the Daniels, the movie tells a truly loony tale about a woman who learns that she must fight off a dangerous force coming from another dimension while simultaneously going through a tax audit on her family’s laundromat business.  It’s an original story, unconnected to any pre-existing IP, and developed and released without the backing of a big studio – U.S. distribution is being handled by indie distributor A24.

Conventional wisdom would predict that this film would be a ho-hum affair, with limited distribution.  However, it has been a big hit, expanding every week to new locations.  Comscore reports that EVERYTHING is now playing at 2,220 screens in North America, up 970 from last week, and has grossed nearly $18M as of 4/17.  This success has been a gift for independent art-house theatres that have struggled to find buzz-worthy features.

Bloomberg highlighted the experience of Boston’s Coolidge Corner Theater, where EVERYTHING has been so popular they had to add showings across multiple screens to accommodate demand.  The Coolidge’s film booker, Mark Anastasio, said, “The fact that an independent film, like, an original concept film, is doing just as well here as a franchise property like ‘The Batman’ just speaks volumes.”  The off-beat, small-budget film earned an astonishing $50,130 per theatre three weeks ago when it was still playing at ten select locations, the highest per theatre average for any picture this year.