'Avengers: Infinity War' scores biggest Thursday opening for Marvel

 
The Marvel model for success

"Avengers: Infinity War" made $39 million at the domestic box office on its opening night Thursday, making it the biggest preview gross for a Marvel Studios film.

Thursday's windfall puts "Infinity War" in fourth place for the biggest preview night behind "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Part 2." "The Force Awakens," which made $57 million on its Thursday night preview in 2015, holds the title for the biggest opening.
"Infinity War" beat its predecessors "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and even the much-celebrated "Black Panther," which opened with incredible fanfare earlier this year.
"Infinity War" made more at the box office in just one night than "Rampage" made for its entire opening weekend earlier this month.
The movie is also off to a big start overseas, nabbing $95 million since opening internationally on Wednesday. It was the biggest opening day for a film in South Korea, Brazil, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
The Marvel mash-up brings together superheroes including Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, Chris Evans' Captain America, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther who team up to stop Thanos from obtaining the mystical Infinity Stones.
Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, has been one of the biggest success stories in film history. The franchise has 18 films open at No. 1 domestically, bringing in nearly $15 billion worldwide.
The decade long franchise has also seen steady acclaim from critics averaging a score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Infinity War" has a 85% score on the review site, with a 93% audience score.