From ‘Iron Man’ to ‘Avengers: Infinity War’: Marvel celebrates 10 years of movie hits

Image: Marvel via AFP Relaxnews

The Marvel universe continues to ride high in Hollywood. As well as marking the 10th anniversary of the Marvel movie franchise, the studio’s latest release, “Avengers: Infinity War” is already setting new box-office records.

The most lucrative movie franchise

With 19 films to its name, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the movie world’s biggest franchise, coming way ahead of “Star Wars” with its current count of 10 films. Combining total box-office grosses worldwide, the Marvel Cinematic Universe holds the record as the most lucrative movie franchise, with grosses topping $13 billion. This impressive figure once again surpasses the “Star Wars” movie franchise ($8 billion).

In total, five Marvel movies have broken the symbolic billion-dollar mark at the box office. The first meeting of Marvel superheroes, “The Avengers” (2012), leads the way with $1.5 billion, also making it the fifth highest-grossing movie of all time. Next in line come “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (seventh with $1.4 billion), “Black Panther” (eighth with $1.3 billion), “Iron Man 3” (14 with $1.2 billion) and “Captain America: Civil War” (16 with $1.15 billion).

‘Avengers 3’ already breaking records

There seems to be little doubt that “Avengers: Infinity War” will soon join the list of the studio’s movies topping one billion dollars at the box office. In any case, the third meeting of Marvel superheroes is already well on its way, since the movie has already grossed $630 million worldwide since its April 27 release.

This new record sails past “The Fate of the Furious” and its $531 million opening weekend, as well as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($529 million). In fact, in the United States, “Avengers 3” scored the biggest opening weekend in history with $250 million, eclipsing “Star Wars Episode VII” with its $248 million opening.

“The Avengers” is once again affirming its place as the most popular Marvel saga. Marvel movies also bring together a galaxy of Hollywood stars. In 2008, Robert Downey Jr. kicked off proceedings with the first installment of “Iron Man”, scoring a global hit. More than 40 Hollywood celebrities have since starred in Marvel’s superhero movies, including Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba, Josh Brolin, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Pratt. JB

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