Marvel bets on new premium-screen push for "Avengers: Doomsday"
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Marvel Studios promotes "Avengers: Doomsday" at CinemaCon in April. Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
Marvel used the first trailer for "Avengers: Doomsday" on Monday to fully unveil Disney's new premium-screen brand, "Infinity Vision."
Why it matters: Disney is rebranding existing premium theaters as a unique experience to generate buzz and garner lucrative ticket sales since "Doomsday" won't debut on IMAX screens.
The big picture: Premium formats have become a sizable driver of blockbuster opening-weekend revenue.
- For example, IMAX says it generated roughly $29.6 million domestically and $51.8 million worldwide for "The Odyssey" during its opening weekend.
Driving the news: Marvel shared the new "Doomsday" trailer early Monday with a link for fans to buy tickets on the movie ticketing platform Fandango for the new "Infinity Vision" theater experience, which was billed as "bigger, brighter, [and] more immersive screens. "
- Ticket prices appeared similar to today's premium-format tickets because Infinity Vision uses existing premium auditoriums — like Cinemark XD screens, Regal's RX screens and AMC's PRIME screens.
- The certification will apply to hundreds of premium screens across the world.
How it works: "Infinity Vision" isn't new tech, but rather a certification that Marvel and Disney are using to market the most technologically advanced theaters as their own unique experiences since they don't have access to IMAX screens for the release week of "Doomsday."
- The new Infinity vision "certification" guarantees movie theaters will "meet rigorous technical standards," according to Disney.
Catch up quick: Disney made this move because the new "Avengers" flick is scheduled for release on Dec. 18, the same day as Warner Bros.' "Dune: Part Three" — which reportedly secured all the IMAX screens for the opening three weeks of release and left Disney to chase theater chain-specific formats.
- In April, Disney announced that "Doomsday" would be released in "Infinity Vision" as a way to patch that hole.
The bottom line: Hollywood's biggest films are increasingly being sold as format-specific events, which helps theater chains charge premium prices and gives studios a reason to attract audiences away from their couches.
- Marvel's last two "Avengers" films — "Infinity War" and "Endgame" — were can't-miss events for the millions who watched the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which has generated tens of billions of dollars at the global box office).
Go deeper: Marvel assembles Russo brothers for next "Avengers" films
