‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Outpaces ‘Dune: Part Three’ in Ticket Search Interest

The competition for December 18 has been heating up, and the stakes just got higher. Marvel and Warner Bros. have been strategically positioning themselves for weeks, each vying for a larger slice of the holiday movie audience while maintaining their shared release date.

This clash stems from an unexpected scheduling conflict when both ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Dune: Part Three’ landed on the same weekend. In a swift move, Warner Bros. secured approximately 400 IMAX screens across North America for Denis Villeneuve’s sequel for three weeks, effectively limiting Disney’s access to the premium format that typically drives significant opening weekend revenue.

In response, Disney launched Infinity Vision, its own large format brand, to provide ‘Doomsday’ with a premium screening option, even without the IMAX label.

This branding strategy has already shown results, with recent data indicating that the ticket announcement for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ generated over double the Google Search interest compared to the recent trailer release for ‘Dune: Part Three.’

This surge in search interest aligns with Disney’s aggressive marketing strategy for early ticket sales. The studio announced that select Infinity Vision screenings for ‘Doomsday’ will be available for purchase five months ahead of the film’s debut, a strategic move aimed at generating buzz before the full trailer is expected to drop at Comic Con. Additionally, Disney confirmed that the film’s runtime is 165 minutes, placing it comfortably between 2018’s ‘Infinity War’ and 2019’s ‘Endgame.’

Meanwhile, ‘Dune: Part Three’ has also been making waves. Warner Bros. has been selling IMAX 70mm tickets as far as eight months in advance, capitalizing on the format advantage it secured early on. The film’s trailer emphasized its IMAX filming and confirmed its December 18 release, showcasing Paul Atreides as a haunted, ruthless Emperor nearly two decades after the events of the previous film.

Despite its early advantage, the latest search data indicates that Marvel’s ticket announcement has captured more public interest for now. This could be attributed to the anticipation surrounding ‘Doomsday,’ which arrives after a seven-year hiatus since ‘Endgame’ and features a star-studded cast including Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, alongside returning favorites like Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, and a host of X-Men characters joining the Avengers.

Disney is clearly banking on this scale to translate into ticket sales, especially with Infinity Vision positioned as a response to losing IMAX access. Reports suggest that over 7,500 applications have been received from theater exhibitors eager to get certified for the new format, indicating a strong belief that ‘Doomsday’ will achieve box office success akin to ‘Endgame,’ regardless of the screens it occupies. To further entice audiences, Disney is re-releasing ‘Avengers: Endgame’ this September, complete with new footage and a post-credits scene that connects directly to ‘Doomsday.’

For Warner Bros. and Villeneuve, the IMAX advantage remains a critical asset as they head into the fall, especially with ‘Dune, Part Two’ having demonstrated the format’s potential for significant box office returns. Whether this will translate into a search and ticket sales edge once ‘Doomsday’ unveils its full trailer at Comic Con is yet to be determined, but for now, the early indicators favor Marvel.

With both films still five months away and neither studio showing signs of budging from December 18, the competition between IMAX and Infinity Vision is set to escalate. Fans are already rallying online, and the box office results in December could become as much of a talking point as the films themselves.

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