While Marvel Studios is still more than capable of delivering a blockbuster hit, it’s fair to say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a different place now than it was eight years ago, when anticipation was building for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The conclusion of the Infinity Saga was a major pop culture event the likes of which can’t be replicated, so people are curious to see how Avengers: Doomsday pans out. Doomsday promises to be one of Marvel’s biggest films yet, bringing together multiple teams of heroes from across the multiverse to fight the powerful Doctor Doom. That basic premise is exciting, but Doomsday lacks the years of set up that defined the Infinity Saga, leading some to wonder if it can pay off. Based on early returns from the recently released Doomsday trailer, fans are very much excited for what’s in store.
According to the account Global Box Office on X, the Avengers: Doomsday trailer amassed 500 million views in 24 hours, making it the biggest trailer debut for a Disney movie (topping Deadpool & Wolverine). Even more impressively, Doomsday scored the second-biggest trailer launch of all time, beating video game Grand Theft Auto VI (475 million views). The only trailer to net more views in its first 24 hours is Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Trailer views isn’t the only metric where Brand New Day has Doomsday beat. Earlier today, it was revealed that Doomsday ranks third all time in ticket pre-sales in the post-pandemic era, behind only Spider-Man: No Way Home and Brand New Day. All of this shows that Spider-Man is Marvel’s most popular character by far and will always be a massive draw. There have been signs of superhero fatigue over the past few years, but Spider-Man is clearly one of the few comic book characters immune to any changing box office trends. There’s a reason why Sony remains hopeful they can continue their partnership with Marvel Studios and make more Spider-Man movies in the years to come. In an age where movies about B- and C-list superheroes are no longer sure things at the box office, the A-listers became more pertinent.
The road to Doomsday hasn’t exactly been smooth, but the Avengers brand seems like it still pulls a significant amount of weight as well. This is an encouraging sign for Marvel Studios; after some uneven years, they need Doomsday to be a massive event that does well at the box office, getting the franchise back on track. There’s still a long way to go, but the sheer number of trailer views and the fact that tickets are selling well five months in advance illustrate there’s a considerable amount of interest in seeing what Marvel has in store. The real test will be how well Doomsday holds during its box office run, but all signs are pointing to a very healthy debut.
It will be interesting to see if a future Doomsday trailer will be able to pass Brand New Day and set a new all-time views record. There will likely be another one that comes out closer to release. By then, Marvel will have held its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con (where Doomsday will be the centerpiece) and audiences will have seen the Spider-Man: Brand New Day post-credits scene that reportedly sets up Doomsday. Anticipation for Doomsday should be even higher a few months from now, which conceivably could lead to more trailer views.
The fact that major brands like Spider-Man and Avengers are pulling these kinds of numbers lend further credence to the notion that Marvel is going to change things up a bit on the film side. After Thunderbolts* underperformed at the box office last year, some speculated that it could lead to a shift where the big names take precedence over lesser-known titles. A Thunderbolts* sequel is reportedly in development, but Marvel only has a new Avengers movie scheduled for 2027, plus an X-Men reboot and Black Panther 3 on the way as well. Since the superhero movie bubble has arguably burst, it’s on Marvel to adjust and keep making films starring characters general audiences are interested in.
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