Disney’s awesome month is about to get even better.
In April, the company unveiled Disney+ to incredible fanfare and sent its stock soaring. Then it unleashed a new “Star Wars” trailer that lit up social media and showed that fans aren’t tired of the franchise just yet. And early ticket sales for “Avengers: Endgame” almost broke the internet as long queues formed on Fandango and AMC’s site crashed when fans flocked to it.
All of this happened before the month was even halfway over.
“Disney has been building to this perfect storm since its renaissance began in the mid-2000s,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business. “The studio’s influence over cinema and media in general can’t be overstated at this point.”
On top of all that, Fandango reported on Thursday that “several thousand” showtimes for “Endgame” have already sold out — and the film’s North America opening isn’t until April 25.
Analysts say “Endgame” is on track to become the highest-grossing opening in box office history, beating the record set last year by its predecessor “Infinity War.”
“We have every reason to expect a new record at this point,” Robbins said.
Robbins added that north of $260 million is “on the table” but that “all projections should be kept in perspective because this is completely new territory.”
“Infinity War” opened to a record $258 million domestically and $640 million globally last April.
After “Endgame” finishes its theatrical run, it will eventually make its way to Disney+, where subscribers will be able to watch it and a spate of other new and existing content for $6.99 a month starting in November when the streaming platform launches.
At its investor day earlier this month, when it unveiled the features of Disney+, CEO Bob Iger and his executives reminded the world that Disney’s content will live exclusively on the platform, including multiple Marvel shows, an original “Star Wars” series called “The Mandalorian,” Pixar films and shorts, documentaries from National Geographic, and Disney animated classics.
The company’s stock surged more than 11% the day after the Disney+ announcement. It was the biggest gain the stock has had in a single day in nearly a decade.
“Whether by design, coincidence, or a combination of the two, the overlap of two major cinematic sagas coming to an end puts a strong exclamation point on the end of an era,” Robbins said. “Disney+ looks to play a major part in beginning the next one.”
And April is likely just one of many big months that Disney will have this year.
Its reboot of “The Lion King” opens in July, “Frozen 2” and Disney+ launch in November and “Rise of Skywalker” caps off the year in December.
