The film was announced in October 2014 asAvengers: Infinity War – Part 2, but Marvel Studios later removed this title. The Russo brothers joined as directors in April 2015, with Markus and McFeely signing on to write the script a month later. It is a conclusion to the story of the MCU up to that point, ending several main characters' story arcs. The plot revisits moments from earlier films, bringing back actors and settings from throughout the franchise. Filming began in August 2017 atPinewood Atlanta Studios inFayette County, Georgia, shootingback-to-back withInfinity War, and ended in January 2018. Additional filming took place in theMetro anddowntown Atlanta areas,New York state,Scotland, andEngland. The official title was announced in December 2018. With an estimated budget range of $356–400million,Endgame is one of themost expensive films ever produced.
Avengers: Endgame premiered at theLos Angeles Convention Center on April 22, 2019, and was released in the United States on April 26 as part ofPhase Three of the MCU. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its direction, acting, musical score, action scenes, visual effects, and emotional weight, with critics lauding its culmination of the 22-film story. It grossed nearly $2.8 billion worldwide, surpassingInfinity War's entire theatrical run in eleven days and setting severalbox-office records. It was thehighest-grossing film of all time from July 2019 to March 2021, when it was surpassed by the previous record-holder,Avatar (2009).Endgame was nominated forBest Visual Effects at the92nd Academy Awards, amongnumerous other accolades. Two further films,Avengers: Doomsday andAvengers: Secret Wars, are scheduled for release in 2026 and 2027.
Five years later,Scott Lang escapes from theQuantum Realm.[b] Reaching theAvengers Compound, he says he experienced only five hours while trapped. Theorizing that the Quantum Realm allowstime travel, they ask a reluctant Stark to help them retrieve the Stones from the past to reverse Thanos's present actions. Stark, Rocket, and Banner, who has merged his intelligence with the Hulk's strength, build a time machine. Banner says that altering the past does not affect the present; any changes createalternate realities. Banner and Rocket travel toNorway, where they visit theAsgardian refugee settlement ofNew Asgard and recruit an overweight, despondent Thor. In Tokyo, Romanoff recruitsClint Barton, who became avigilante after his family was erased.
Banner, Lang, Rogers, and Stark time-travel to New York City duringLoki's attack in 2012.[c] At theSanctum Sanctorum, Banner convinces theAncient One to give him theTime Stone after promising to return the Infinity Stones to their proper points in time. AtStark Tower, Rogers retrieves theMind Stone fromHydra sleeper agents; Stark and Lang's attempt to steal theSpace Stone fails, allowing 2012-Loki to escape with it. Rogers and Stark travel toCamp Lehigh in 1970, where Stark obtains an earlier version of the Space Stone and encounters his father,Howard. Rogers stealsPym Particles fromHank Pym to return to the present and sees his lost love,Peggy Carter.
Rocket and Thor travel toAsgard in 2013;[d] Rocket extracts theReality Stone fromJane Foster. Thor is encouraged by his mother,Frigga, and retrieves his old hammer,Mjolnir. Barton, Romanoff, Nebula, and Rhodes travel to 2014; Nebula and Rhodes go toMorag and steal thePower Stone beforePeter Quill can,[e] while Barton and Romanoff travel toVormir. TheSoul Stone's keeper,Red Skull, says that it can be acquired only by sacrificing a loved one. Romanoff sacrifices herself, allowing Barton to get the Stone. Rhodes and Nebula attempt to return to their own time, but Nebula is incapacitated when her cybernetic implants link with her past self; this allows 2014-Thanos to learn about his future self's success and the Avengers' attempt to undo it. 2014-Thanos sends 2014-Nebula forward in time to prepare for his arrival.
Reuniting in the present, the Avengers place the Stones in a gauntlet that Stark, Banner, and Rocket have built. Banner, who has the most resistance to their radiation, uses the gauntlet to undo Thanos's disintegrations. Meanwhile, 2014-Nebula (impersonating her future self) uses the time machine to transport 2014-Thanos andhis warship to the present and destroys the Avengers Compound. Present-day Nebula convinces 2014-Gamora to betray Thanos, but is unable to convince 2014-Nebula and kills her. Thanos overpowers Stark, Thor and a Mjolnir-wielding Rogers; he summons his army to retrieve the Stones, intent on using them to destroy the universe and create a new one. A restoredStephen Strange arrives withother sorcerers, the restored Avengers, theGuardians of the Galaxy, theRavagers, and the armies ofWakanda and Asgard to fight Thanos's army. Danvers also arrives and destroys Thanos's warship, but Thanos overpowers her and seizes the gauntlet. Stark steals the Stones and uses them to disintegrate Thanos and his army, sacrificing himself.
After Stark's funeral, Thor appointsValkyrie as the new king of New Asgard and joins the Guardians. Rogers returns the Stones and Mjolnir to their proper timelines and remains in the past to live with Carter. In the present, an elderly Rogers passeshis shield toSam Wilson.
Cast
Robert Downey Jr. asTony Stark / Iron Man: The benefactor of theAvengers who describes himself as a "genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist" withelectromechanical suits of armor he made.[5][6] According to directorsJoe and Anthony Russo, Downey was the only actor to receive the entire screenplay for the film.[7] ScreenwritersChristopher Markus and Stephen McFeely knew that Stark's death was inevitable as a "[move] to selflessness" and as an end to the "chapter" Stark began. They felt that his death was earned after granting him "the perfect retirement life ... That's the life he's been striving for [...] They got married, they had a kid, it was great. It's a good death. It doesn't feel like a tragedy. It feels like a heroic, finished life."[8] Joe Russo said that Stark "always knew he was going to die because he could never reconcile that notion in himself of not protecting the universe," and was the most defiant of the Avengers: "Stark is the most formidable of all of them [...] because of his heart."[9] The Russos sought Downey's approval for Stark's arc, which they had developed sinceCaptain America: Civil War (2016).[10]
Chris Evans asSteve Rogers / Captain America: The leader of the Avengers,World War II veteran and former fugitive, he was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum and frozen in suspended animation before waking up in the modern world.[6] Markus described Rogers as someone who is "moving toward some sort ofenlightened self-interest". McFeely knew that Rogers "was going to get his dance" that he promisedPeggy Carter inCaptain America: The First Avenger (2011). He initially planned to complete Rogers's story arc by killing him off, given the character's long life for his occupation, before deciding to have Rogers abandonhis shield.[8]Patrick Gorman provided an on-set reference for an elderly Steve Rogers.[11]
Mark Ruffalo asBruce Banner / Hulk: An Avenger and genius scientist who, because of exposure togamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or agitated.[12] Banner balances his two sides with gamma experimentation in this film, enabling him to combine his intelligence with the Hulk's strength and physical stature[13] based on his "Professor Hulk" comic-book identity.[14] Compared to other heroes who were demotivated by their loss to Thanos, Banner is the only character to remain hopeful; according to Anthony Russo, "Banner is the sole character who is actually forging into a bright new future, trying to build something totally new and find something completely new [...] Banner is the one who is most heroic in a sense that he maintains his will to keep trying."[15] This concludes a character arc that was established inThor: Ragnarok (2017) and continued inAvengers: Infinity War (2018).[16]
Chris Hemsworth asThor: An Avenger and the king ofAsgard, based on theNorse mythological deityof the same name.[17] Thor now wields a mystical axe known asStormbreaker after the destruction of his hammer,Mjolnir, inThor: Ragnarok.[18] In the film, Thor has become an overweight, drunken ruler of Asgard's refugees inTønsberg, Norway. Hemsworth said about this drastic character change, "I just had an opinion. I wanted to do something different this time. Each film I've wanted to, in particular, the last couple, and they were on board," and added, "We shot for many hours and days and discussed how far could we push (Thor) and what we could do different."[19] According to Anthony Russo, "Even though there's a lot of fun to be had in the movie with his physical condition, it's not a gag. It's a manifestation of where he is on a character level, and we think it's one of the most relatable aspects of him. I mean, it's a very common sort of response to depression and pain."[20] Thor's story was Russo's favorite arc: "Part of Chris' magic as a comedic actor is his dedication to the depth of the character on a very earnest level [...] It's so devious and subversive when comedy is coming from a place of complete commitment and emotional complexity."[21] Hemsworth underwent around three hours of hair and makeup work for the transformation, which also required him to wear a large silicone prosthetic suit; he called himself "Lebowski Thor" on set. Thor was initially supposed to revert to his "old chiseled self" in the middle ofEndgame, but Hemsworth wanted to retain Thor's new physique.[22]
Scarlett Johansson asNatasha Romanoff / Black Widow: An Avenger and a highly trained spy and former agent ofS.H.I.E.L.D.[23][6] Romanoff continues to command several teams from around the galaxy in the Avengers headquarters at the beginning of the film, which Joe Russo said stemmed from her inability to move on from their failure to stop Thanos: "[S]he's doing everything she can to try and hold the community together [...] She's the watcher on the wall still." On the decision for Romanoff to sacrifice herself for Barton to acquire the Soul Stone to bring everyone back, Joe Russo said that it was part of a larger theme of the desires to sacrifice or protect inInfinity War: "When she gets to that [Soul Stone] scene, I think she understands that the only way to bring the community back is for her to sacrifice herself."[24] McFeely said, "Her journey, in our minds, had come to an end if she could get the Avengers back. She comes from such an abusive, terrible, mind-control background, so when she gets to Vormir and she has a chance to get the family back, that's a thing she would trade for."[8] To prepare for the film, Johansson adopted an intense workout regimen which includedplyometrics,Olympic weightlifting and gymnastics and a time-restricted diet. All were supervised by her longtime trainer, Eric Johnson, with whom she had worked sinceIron Man 2 (2010) – the film which introduced her character.[25]
Jeremy Renner asClint Barton / Hawkeye: A master archer and a former Avenger and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who was recently under house arrest.[26] McFeely described Barton's dark turn as "a good example of people who had much stronger stories afterthe Snap." The film's cold open, with the disintegration of Barton's family, was initially supposed to be inInfinity War after Thanos snapped; it was moved toEndgame, however, with Markus saying that it was "going to blunt the brutality of what [Thanos] did."[8] Joe Russo called it "a very tragic scene to open the movie with. It's one of the few scenes in the movie that actually makes me tear up when I watch it, because I think about my own family [...] And then you think about what would happen to you, as a father. You'd become very self-destructive."[15]
Don Cheadle asJames "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine: An officer in theU.S. Air Force and an Avenger who operates the War Machine armor.[27] Cheadle described Rhodes's newfound belonging as an Avenger as "not so much straddling one foot in the military. He's much more on the side of The Avengers than he was prior." This is reflected on Rhodes's more instinctive and realistic worldview in the midst of encountering the fantastic; according to Cheadle, "He's definitely got some 'what-the-eff-is-happening' [attitude,] more than maybe the rest of them do, given his background. But it's a trial by fire, and he's quickly adapted to what [the threat] is, rather than what he wishes it were."[28]
Paul Rudd asScott Lang / Ant-Man: A former petty criminal and Avenger who acquired a suit that allows him to shrink or grow in size while also increasing in strength.[6] Lang is portrayed by twins Bazlo and Loen LeClair as a baby, by Jackson A. Dunn at age 12, and by Lee Moore at age 93.[29] This was Moore's final film before his death in August 2018.[30] Markus explained that adding Lang helped with implementing time travel into the film, saying, "we had access to him in the second movie, and the fact that he was bringing a whole subset of technology that did have something to do with a different concept of time was like a birthday present."[31]
Brie Larson asCarol Danvers / Captain Marvel: An ex-U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and Avenger whose DNA was altered during an accident, giving her superhuman strength, energy projection, and flight.[32][33] Markus said that Danvers's powers are on a scale that has not previously existed in the MCU and compared her personality to Rogers's, "which is sort of a person who's right and knows they're right and doesn't really want to hear it when you tell them they're wrong".[34] Danvers has little screen time in the film, which McFeely said was "not the story we're trying to tell—it's the original Avengers dealing with loss and coming to a conclusion, and she's the new, fresh blood."[8] Larson filmed her scenes forEndgame before beginning work on her solo film,Captain Marvel (2019), which was released first.Captain Marvel directorsAnna Boden and Ryan Fleck were present for the filming of her scenes inEndgame, and gave Danvers's characterization in the film their blessing.[35]
Karen Gillan asNebula: An adopted daughter of Thanos and an Avenger who was raised with Gamora.[36] After being an antagonist or an anti-hero in previous MCU films, Nebula undergoes a redemption arc and makes amends for her past actions (including an encounter with a past version of herself); according to Gillan, she is "staring her former self in the face and it's really clear how far she's come from that angry, bitter and twisted person. She's starting to connect with other people and find some level of forgiveness." Gillan guessed that Nebula would play a prominent role in the film when she realized thatInfinity War andEndgame would be adapted fromThe Infinity Gauntlet, which she had read when she was initially cast as Nebula inGuardians of the Galaxy (2014). Gillan shared several scenes, most of which were improvised, with Downey in the film's opening.[37]
Bradley Cooper asRocket: A member of the Guardians and an Avenger who is a genetically engineered,raccoon-based bounty hunter, mercenary, and master of weapons and battle tactics.[41]Sean Gunn was again the stand-in for Rocket during filming, with his acting and expressions the character's motion reference.[42] Rocket's appearance continues a story arc that was established byGuardians of the Galaxy writer-director andEndgame executive producerJames Gunn in the first twoGuardians of the Galaxy films, was continued inInfinity War andEndgame, and concluded inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).[43]
Gwyneth Paltrow asPepper Potts: Stark's wife and the CEO of Stark Industries.[44] Potts wears a weaponizedpowered exosuit of armor made for her by Stark, based on the Rescue armor.[45][46] Paltrow said this would be her final major appearance in the MCU.[47]
Josh Brolin asThanos: An intergalactic warlord fromTitan who acquired all six Infinity Stones inInfinity War and triggeredthe Snap, killing half of all life in the universe.[48][49] Joe Russo said that after Thanos was successful inAvengers: Infinity War, he was "done" and "retired".[50] Markus and McFeely had difficulty in factoring the older, post-Infinity War Thanos into the film (because the character already had the Infinity Stones) until executive producer Trinh Tran suggested that they kill Thanos in the film's first act. Markus said that the character's early death improved his agenda.[8] Thanos has less screen time inEndgame than inInfinity War, where he was considered the main character. According to McFeely, "We had to give ourselves permission to backseat the villain a little bit. I don't think anyone in the first half of the movie is going, 'Oh I wish there was a villain'. You're rolling around in the loss and the time heist, and you think it's sort of Avengers against nature." The younger version of Thanos was nicknamed "Warrior Thanos" by the filmmakers.[15] In addition to voicing the character, Brolin did themotion capture.[51] Joe Russo was astand-in for Thanos for some scenes with Nebula.[52]
Hiroyuki Sanada playedAkihiko, aYakuza boss in Tokyo who opposes Barton. Lexi Rabe playedMorgan Stark, Tony and Pepper's daughter.[41][66]Katherine Langford was cast as an older Morgan, but her scene was cut from the final film.[70][71]Emma Fuhrmann played an olderCassie Lang, Scott's daughter, after the character was played as a child byAbby Ryder Fortson in previous MCU films.[72] Avengers co-creatorStan Lee had a posthumous cameo in the film,digitally de-aged as a car driver in 1970, in his final film appearance.[73]Ken Jeong andYvette Nicole Brown had cameo appearances as a storage facility guard and a S.H.I.E.L.D. employee, respectively.[62] Co-director Joe Russo (credited as Gozie Agbo) had a cameo appearance as a grieving gay man, the first appearance of an openly homosexual character in an MCU film.[74] Joe's daughters Ava and Lia Russo played Barton's daughter Lila and a fan of Hulk, respectively. Thanos creatorJim Starlin also appeared as a grieving man.[75] The characterHoward the Duck appeared in a non-speaking cameo.[76]
In October 2014,Marvel Studios announced a two-part sequel ofAvengers: Age of Ultron (2015) entitledAvengers: Infinity War.Part 1 was scheduled to be released on May 4, 2018, andPart 2 was scheduled for May 3, 2019.[77] Marvel's plan was to film both parts ofInfinity Warback-to-back.[78]Anthony and Joe Russo were hired to direct the films in April 2015.[79] The next month,Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely signed on to write the screenplays for both parts of the film.[80] ProducerKevin Feige said they would be "two distinct" projects with shared elements, notone story split across two films.[81] The Russos decided to rename them to remove this misconception in May 2016,[82] and Marvel left the second film untitled that July.[83] Feige and the Russo brothers indicated that the title was being withheld to avoid giving away plot details.[84][85]
Principal photography began on August 10, 2017,[86] under theworking titleMary Lou 2[87] atPinewood Atlanta Studios inFayette County, Georgia, withTrent Opaloch thedirector of photography.[88][89] The film andInfinity War were shot with ARRI AlexaIMAX 2D cameras, the first time aHollywood feature film was shot entirely with IMAX digital cameras.[90] Filming was done that month inthe Gulch area ofdowntown Atlanta, near theFive PointsMARTA station, and inPiedmont Park.[91] Feige said that the films were originally scheduled to be filmed simultaneously but were ultimately shot back-to-back: "It became too complicated to cross-board them like that, and we found ourselves—again, something would always pay the price. We wanted to be able to focus and shoot one movie and then focus and shoot another movie."[92] Anthony Russo originally felt that it made more sense to shoot the films simultaneously for financial and logistical reasons (including the large number of cast members),[93] and had suggested that "some days we'll be shooting the first movie and some days we'll be shooting the second movie. Just jumping back and forth."[88] The 2013Asgard scenes were shot atDurham Cathedral inDurham, England during production ofInfinity War in early May 2017.[94][95] Productionwrapped on January 11, 2018,[96] although additional filming took place inNew York'sDutchess andUlster counties in June 2018.[97] Re-shoots began by September 7, 2018,[98] and ended on October 12.[99] More re-shoots were done in January 2019.[100] Location shooting also took place inSt Abbs, Scotland, which doubled forNew Asgard in Norway.[101] Evans and Hemsworth earned $15million each for the film.[102]
Alan Silvestri, who composed the score forThe Avengers, was announced in June 2016 to be returning to scoreInfinity War andEndgame.[110] The Russos began working with Silvestri on theEndgame score in early November 2018,[111] and it was completed in late March 2019.[112] Asoundtrack album with Silvestri's score was released digitally byHollywood Records on April 26, 2019, with a physical release on May 24.[113] A video for the track "Portals", composed for the climactic"Avengers assemble" scene in which reinforcements arrive for the Avengers, was released on June 13.[114]
Silvestri described the score as having the franchise's most versatile tone, ranging from "thunderous percussion and powerful brass" for the action scenes to minimalist, jazz-inspired music for Ant-Man and the Quantum Realm. He reprised his themes from the previousAvengers films andCaptain America: The First Avenger, including material he wrote for Thanos and the Infinity Stones inInfinity War. Silvestri found writing the music to end Captain America's story poignant, since he had "been on this journey with him since the beginning".[115] The film also used theAnt-Man (2015) theme byChristophe Beck, theDoctor Strange (2016) theme byMichael Giacchino, and theCaptain Marvel theme byPinar Toprak.[116] The songs "Come and Get Your Love" byRedbone and "It's Been a Long, Long Time" byJule Styne andSammy Cahn were also used after previously being heard inGuardians of the Galaxy andCaptain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), respectively.[117][118]
Marketing
The marketing campaign forEndgame cost over $200 million, the most for any Marvel Studios film. Promotional partners includedStand Up to Cancer,Mastercard,Ulta Beauty, theAudi e-tron GT concept car (which appears in the film),McDonald's,GEICO,Coca-Cola,Google,General Mills,Hertz,Ziploc,Oppo, andSynchrony Financial.[119] A year before the film's release, Germain Lussier ofio9 spoke on the approach Marvel might have to take in marketing the film, given the end ofInfinity War where many established characters die. He questioned if those characters would appear on posters and in toy campaigns, and if the actors playing them would participate in press events leading up to the film's release. Lussier felt that Disney and Marvel could focus on the original Avengers team members (most of the living characters), but noted that it would be more beneficial to show the return of the dead characters; this would create a "mystery and curiosity abouthow they come back" and a "whole new level of interest" for the film "while having all the stars front and center".[120] Feige said in June 2018 that the dead characters would not be featured in the film's marketing.[121] He presented a behind-the-scenes video from the film atCineEurope,[122][123] and said that its marketing campaign would begin at the end of 2018.[124] In early December 2018, before the first trailer's release, Graeme McMillan ofThe Hollywood Reporter spoke about the "fevered anticipation" surrounding it and felt it "remarkable", mostly "fan-created, without [the] noticeable direction from Marvel or the filmmakers involved"; knowledge about the film, without promotion was, "a kind of brand awareness" that was unusual. McMillan urged Marvel not to release any trailers for the film, since "the advanced level of enthusiasm [...] [was] likely to build" before its release; a trailer would take away the "Schrödinger's cat-esque position", as it was "almost guaranteed" to disappoint fans.[125]
The first trailer for the film was released on December 7, 2018.[126] Dustin Sandoval, vice president ofdigital marketing for Marvel Studios, said that the marketing team decided to omit the "title or hashtag" for the film in its trailer posts, allowing fans to see the trailer without spoiling it by watching "at the end".[127] Richard Newby, also ofThe Hollywood Reporter, felt that although little new material was revealed in the trailer, it offered a "somber glimpse of a universe made unrecognizable" and let the viewer consider "the ending ofAvengers: Infinity War and our questions of loss". Newby noted that the trailer highlighted the characters' "humble beginnings" with its visual language, and left viewers with "just as many questions as we had before".[126] Austen Goslin ofPolygon said that the title references a line by Doctor Strange to Tony Stark inInfinity War and a line by Stark inAge of Ultron. Goslin said, "The scene surrounding this line inAge of Ultron is one of the most important ones in the movie. Things look dark, and the group of heroes face an enemy they don't think they can defeat." TheEndgame trailer "mirrors this perfectly", and "shows us that the Avengers' two most prominent characters are who they've always been: Iron Man, a pessimist who keeps fighting no matter how hopeless things look, and Captain America, an optimist who believes that nothing is hopeless when the world's heroes fight together."[128] The trailer was viewed 289 million times in its first 24 hours and was the most-viewed trailer in that time period, surpassing the record ofAvengers: Infinity War (230 million views). It set a record forTwitter conversation for a film trailer in the first 24 hours, generating 549,000 mentions.[129] By January 3, 2019,BoxOffice's "Trailer Impact" metric service indicated that 77 to 78 percent of people surveyed who viewed theEndgame trailer in the past three weeks had expressed interest in seeing the film. In the three weeks it was measured by the service, the trailer was number one for all and had the top two percent of respondents express interest in seeing the film since the service's introduction in March 2018.[130]
The second trailer for the film and its theatrical release poster were released on March 14, 2019. All 13 actors on the poster received top billing except for Danai Gurira, whose name appeared in the poster's bottombilling block with Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, and Gwyneth Paltrow (none of whom appeared on the poster). Despite this, her exclusion from the top billing prompted criticism from some fans.[38][131] Petrana Radulovic ofPolygon said that how an actor is credited on a poster "is a complex process" based on "dealing with agents, fees, and movie star demands."[38] Marvel Studios released an updated poster later that day, with Gurira in the top billing.[38][131] The second trailer was viewed 268 million times in the first 24 hours, becoming the second-most-viewed trailer in that time period (behind the first trailer).[132]
Release
Theatrical
Avengers: Endgame had its world premiere at theLos Angeles Convention Center on April 22, 2019.[133][134] Disney converted the convention center's Hall K for the film's premiere, working withDolby andQSC Audio to install a 70-foot (21-metre) screen,Dolby Vision projectors, and aDolby Atmos sound system. The convention center also held the red carpet arrival and after-party for the premiere.[134] The film was released in Australia, China, and other parts of Asia and Europe on April 24,[135] in the United Kingdom on April 25,[136] in the United States and India on April 26,[103][135] and in Russia on April 29[135] inIMAX and3D.[137][138] It was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on May 3.[77]Radio Liberty alleged that theRussian government postponed the film's release in that country to promote Russian-produced films.[139]Avengers: Endgame is part ofPhase Three of the MCU.[140]
Following the release of the second trailer for Marvel Studios'Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) on May 6, Marvel began showing it at the end ofEndgame screenings with a message before the film fromFar From Home star Tom Holland telling the audience to stay until the end of the credits to see the trailer.[141] In June, Feige announced thatAvengers: Endgame would be re-released in theaters with seven minutes of new post-credits footage which included a Stan Lee tribute, an unfinished deleted scene, and the opening scene ofFar From Home. A limited-edition poster would be given out at select theaters. The re-release began on June 28 in 1,040 theaters in the United States.[142][143]
Home media
The film was released fordigital download byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on July 30, 2019, and onUltra HD Blu-ray,Blu-ray, andDVD on August 13.[144] Streaming became exclusive toDisney+ on November 12, 2019.[145] The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel.[144] Despite being filmed with IMAX cameras and released in IMAX theaters in the 1.90:1aspect ratio, the home-media release has the cropped2.39:1 aspect-ratio version used for non-IMAX screenings.[146] The IMAX Enhanced version of the film was made available on Disney+ on November 12, 2021,[147] and it earned$107.8million from DVD and Blu-ray sales in the US.[3]
The film had a worldwide opening of $1.2billion, thebiggest of all time, and nearly doubleInfinity War's previous record of $640million.[152] It is the fastest film to reach the $1billion and $1.5billion marks, doing so in five and eight days respectively.[153]Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film wouldbreak even five days after release, "unheard of for a major studio tentpole during its opening weekend".[2] The website calculatedAvengers: Endgame's final net profit as $890million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participation, and other costs; box-office grosses and home-media revenue placed it first on its list of 2019's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[154]
On May 4, the film's earnings at the global box office surpassed the theatrical run ofInfinity War. It was the fastest film to gross $2billion worldwide, reaching that threshold in 11 days;Avatar did so in 47 days.[155]Avengers: Endgame was the fifth film to surpass this threshold (afterAvatar,Titanic (1997),Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), andInfinity War),[156] and reached the $2.5billion mark in 20 days;Avatar did so in 72.[157]
Pre-sale records
Endgame was one of 2019's most anticipated films in late December 2018, ranked second byIMDb and first byFandango andAtom Tickets.[158][159] Due to high demand when pre-sale tickets became available in the U.S. on April 2, 2019, customers on Atom Tickets and Fandango experienced long wait times and system delays;AMC Theatres' website and appcrashed for several hours. Fandango announced that day that the film was its top-selling pre-sale film for the first 24 hours, breakingStar Wars: The Force Awakens's record in six hours. Atom said that the film was the website's bestselling first-day film (outsellingAquaman (2018) by four times), andRegal Cinemas reported thatEndgame had sold more tickets in its first eight hours thanInfinity War did in its first week.[160] The film grossed $120–140million in pre-sales.[135] Fandango announced the day before release thatEndgame was its biggest pre-selling film of all time, surpassingThe Force Awakens with over 8,000 sold-out showtimes across the US.[161]
In India, the film sold one million tickets in one day for its English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu-language screenings; 18 tickets were sold every second.[135] In China, pre-sale tickets became available on April 12; a record one million were sold in six hours, surpassingInfinity War's first-24-hours total in the first hour[162] and earning $114.5million (RMB 770 million) in pre-sales.[163]
On April 4, industry tracking projected that the film would gross $200–250million domestically during its opening weekend; some insiders saw those figures as conservative, and expected a $260–300million debut.[164][165] By the week of its release, domestic estimates had risen to $260–270million and some insiders suggested that a $300million debut was possible. The film played in 4,662 theaters, 410 of which were in IMAX; it was the widest release ever, surpassing the record ofDespicable Me 3's (2017) 4,529 theaters.[135][166]Avengers: Endgameearned $357.1million in its opening weekend, breakingInfinity War's record by nearly $100million. It set records for Friday ($157.5million, including $60million from Thursday night previews), Saturday ($109.3million), and Sunday ($90.4million) totals, and had a higher total weekend gross than the previous box-office high of all films combined ($314million).[167] The film earned an average of $76,601 per theatre, breaking records for highest per-theatre average for a nationwide release ($59,982 forThe Force Awakens) and the inflation-adjusted record held byReturn of the Jedi (approximately $66,400, set in 1983).[168][169] It earned $36.9million the following Monday and $33.1million on Tuesday, both the third-highest of all time.[170][171] In its second weekend, the film made $147.4million (the second-best second weekend ever) for a 10-day total of $621.3million. It was the fastest film to pass the $600million mark, ahead ofThe Force Awakens's 12 days and less than half the 26 days it tookInfinity War.[172] The film grossed $64.8million the following week, the fourth-best third weekend ever. It passed the $700million mark, tyingThe Force Awakens's record of 16 days.[173]Endgame was finally dethroned in its fourth weekend by newcomerJohn Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).[174] It earned $17.2million the following weekend (a total of $22.3million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend), crossing the $800million threshold domestically.[175] The film was added to 1,040 theaters during its tenth-weekend re-release and earned $6.1million, an increase of 207 percent from the previous weekend.[176] It earned $1.2million in its thirteenth weekend, breakingAvatar's all-time record.[177]
Other territories
Endgame was projected to gross around $680million internationally over its first five days, for a global debut of $850–950million.[178][179][135] The film was initially projected to gross $250–280million in China in its opening weekend[135] but earned a record $107.5million (RMB 719 million) in the country on its first day; this included $28.2million (RMB 189million) from midnight, 3 am and 6 am screenings, eclipsingThe Fate of the Furious's (2017) record of $9.1million. Due to the record-breaking first day and word of mouth (with a 9.1 on local review aggregatorDouban and a 9.3 on ticket websiteMaoyan), debut projections were increased to over $300million.[163] The film made $169million on its first day, the highest total of all time. Its largest markets after China were India ($9million), South Korea ($8.4million, the largest non-holiday single-day gross ever), Australia ($7.1million), France ($6million), and Italy ($5.8million). The film over-performed, opening with $866million overseas. Its largest markets, setting records for the best-ever opening in each country, were China ($330.5million, RMB 2.22billion), the United Kingdom ($53.8million), South Korea ($47.4million), Mexico ($33.1million), Australia ($30.8million), Brazil ($26million), Spain ($13.3million), Japan ($13million),[152] and Vietnam ($10million).[180] The film earned $21.6million over its first four days in Russia after a government-caused delay of its premiere.[139][181][182]
In its first week, the film's top five largest international markets were China ($459.4million), the United Kingdom ($68.2million), South Korea ($60.3million), Mexico ($48.6million), and India ($40.9million).[183] A week after its release, it became the highest-grossing foreign film of all time in China[184] and India.[185] The film's running total passed $1.569billion from international markets in its second weekend, passingTitanic as the second-highest film overseas of all time.[156] By January 2021, its top international markets were China ($632million), the United Kingdom ($115million), South Korea ($105million), Brazil ($86million), and Mexico ($78million).[4]
Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 94%, with an average score of 8.2/10 based on 551 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Exciting, entertaining, and emotionally impactful,Avengers: Endgame does whatever it takes to deliver a satisfying finale to Marvel's epic Infinity Saga."[187]Metacritic (which uses aweighted average) gave the film a score of 78 out of 100 based on 57 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[188] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an A+ grade on an A+ to F scale, the third Marvel film to receive the grade afterThe Avengers andBlack Panther (2018).PostTrak audiences gave the film five stars out of five and an 85-percent "definite recommend".[167]
Writing forNPR,Glen Weldon gave the film a positive review and found it a worthy sequel to its predecessor: "The Russos' decision to stick close to the experiences of the remaining Avengers proves a rewarding one, as they've expressly constructed the film as an extended victory lap for the Marvel Cinematic Universe writ large. Got a favorite character from any Marvel movie over the past decade, no matter how obscure? Prepare to get serviced, fan."[189] In hisRolling Stone review,Peter Travers gave the film four stars out of five: "You don't have to make jokes about the clichéd time travel plot – the film is ready, willing and able to make its own, withBack to the Future coming in for a serious ribbing."[190]
Peter Debruge ofVariety wrote, "After the must-see showdown that wasInfinity War, the Russo brothers deliver a more fan-facing three-hour follow-up, rewarding loyalty to Marvel Cinematic Universe."[191] J. R. Kinnard ofPopMatters wrote, "Big budget action filmmaking doesn't get much better than this."[192]Todd McCarthy ofThe Hollywood Reporter said, "[W]hat comes across most strongly here, oddly enough for an effects-driven comic-book-derived film, is the character acting, especially from Downey, Ruffalo, Evans, Hemsworth, Brolin, and Paul Rudd".[193]Richard Roeper, writing for theChicago Sun-Times, gave the film four stars and praised its "emotional punch" and the "funny, well-paced, smart, expertly rendered screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, crisp direction from Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, [...] and the universally stellar performances".[194]
The New York Times reviewerA. O. Scott gave the film a positive-but-guarded review: "Endgame is a monument to adequacy, a fitting capstone to an enterprise that figured out how to be good enough for enough people enough of the time. Not that it's really over, of course: Disney and Marvel are still working out new wrinkles in the time-money continuum. But the Russos do provide the sense of an ending, a chance to appreciate what has been done before the timelines reset and we all get back to work."[195]Justin Chang of theLos Angeles Times wrote that "Avengers: Endgame achieves and earns its climactic surge of feeling, even as it falls just short of real catharsis".[196] Some called the film a notable improvement over its predecessor,Avengers: Infinity War, including Brian Tallerico ofRogerEbert.com:Endgame is "a more patient, focused film [thanInfinity War], even as its plot draws in elements of a dozen other movies."[197]Matt Zoller Seitz (also ofRogerEbert.com) compared the film positively toInfinity War, which he considered "too crowded, too rushed and yet too long". Seitz calledEndgame "a heartfelt and satisfying experience" and a "surprisingly relaxed, character-driven, self-aware yet sincere comedy [for] two-thirds of [the film]. Much of the script suggests a laid-backRichard Linklater movie with superheroes".[198]Joe Morgenstern ofThe Wall Street Journal citedAvengers: Endgame as the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, calling the final battle "inevitably unwieldy [...] but thrilling all the same, and followed by a delicatecoda. So many stories. So many adventures. So much to sort out before the next cycle starts."[199]
Richard Brody was more critical of the film inThe New Yorker, saying that its good acting was not matched by comparable skill from its directors: "The Russos have peculiarly little sense of visual pleasure, little sense of beauty, little sense of metaphor, little aptitude for texture or composition; their spectacular conceit is purely one of scale, which is why their finest moments are quiet and dramatic ones".[200]Anthony Lane ofThe New Yorker gave the film a negative review, finding it overwrought: "The one thing you do need to know aboutAvengers: Endgame is that it runs for a little over three hours, and that you can easily duck out during the middle hour, do some shopping, and slip back into your seat for the climax. You won't have missed a thing."[201]
In May 2018,the Walt Disney Company CEOBob Iger said Marvel Studios was focusing on new characters and franchises for the MCU followingEndgame, but anotherAvengers film could happen eventually given the popularity of the previous films.[209] Shortly after the film's premiere, the Russo brothers said that they were not opposed to returning to the MCU in the future due to their positive relationship with Marvel Studios, but did not plan to do so at that time.[210] Feige said in January 2021 that anotherAvengers film would happen eventually.[211]
At the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, the Russo brothers were announced to be directing the next twoAvengers films. They revealed thatAvengers 5 was now titledAvengers: Doomsday and would featureDoctor Doom as the main antagonist rather than Kang. Downey was revealed to have been cast as Doom for both films, and McFeely had taken over as writer for the films from Waldron.[220] Numerous cast members from previous MCU media are set to reprise their roles inDoomsday, along with several actors who starred in20th Century Fox'sX-Men film series.[221]Doomsday is scheduled to be released on December 18, 2026, withSecret Wars following on December 17, 2027.[222]
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