If Avengers: Endgame was a stock, it would be at least a five-bagger
In 2009, Walt Disney Co. bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. And since that time, most of the most successful superhero films have featured Marvel characters – fantastical characters brought to life by the legendary Stan Lee.
Fast forward almost 10 years later to April 2019, Disney and Marvel enjoyed the biggest global opening in film history, with a whopping $1.2 billion box office opening over its first weekend. And when its second weekend at the box office closes, it is likely to eclipse $2 billion globally, possibly on the way to being the top grossing movie of all time.
The Legend of Stan Lee
Stan Lee, the legendary writer and man credited with much of the Marvel comic book characters died on November 12, 2018. World-renowned for his fantastic characters and beloved by comic-book fans everywhere, Lee was 95 when he died.
Born Stanley Matin Lieber in 1922, his career spanned over 70 years and he received his first break in 1939 when he became a gofer making $8/week at the new Timely Comics, which would eventually become Marvel Comics. When the editor quit Timely, Stan was named interim editor at the age of 19 and would go on to be their creative leader for decades.
The 19-year old Stanley Lieber made his comic-book debut with the title “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge” in 1941 under the pseudonym Stan Lee. Years later, he admitted that he was so embarrassed at how comic books were received by society, that he used a pen name so no one would connect him to lowly comics when he eventually wrote the Great American Novel. He eventually changed his legal name to Stan Lee.
Collaborating with others are Marvel – especially Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko – Lee co-created some of today’s most popular fictional characters, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, Black Panther and Ant-Man.
Will Endgame be #1 of All Time?
Only time will tell whether Endgame becomes the top grossing movie of all time, but here are the Top Five, listed in order of their box office success:
1. Avatar at $2.8 billion
2. Titanic at $2.2 billion
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens at $2.0 billion
4. Avengers: Infinity War at $2.0 billion
5. Avengers: Endgame, currently at $1.7 billion
With a production budget between $300 and $400 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, Endgame is clearly a success.
2019 Will Be a Good Year for Disney Movies
Let’s rejoice at the movies that Disney has planned for 2019:
· Captain Marvel on March 6th
· Dumbo on March 29th
· Penguins on April 17th
· Avengers: Endgame on April 26th
· Aladdin on May 24th
· Toy Story 4 on June 20th
· The Lion King on July 19th
· Artemis Fowl on August 9th
· Frozen 2 on November 22nd
· Star Wars: Episode IX on December 20th
Stan Lee would be happy.