Captain America: Civil War is set to have the highest (non-Avenger) opening in the Marvel universe so far, looking likely to pinch the mantle from the equally well received Iron Man 3.
The well-reviewed third film in the Cap series is on course to pull in $180 million at the American box-office, while the third Iron Man took $174 million - both over opening weekend.
To be fair, this is more of an Avengers movie than any other single hero flick that has come before - the difference here is there's no Thor or Hulk. The inclusion of Robert Downey Jr. is also a huge factor; the man is box-office gold in the right role, and Tony Stark is that role. While the surprisingly long appearance from one Spider-Man absolutely helped too. Spidey is a Sony title, while these characters are Disney - so the studio loaning him has worked here.
There are two more Avengers movies to come as Marvel are currently in 'phase three' of their plan for world domination. You have to hand it to them, it's working so far.
Civil War has also coined $300 million outside of the US having bowed a week earlier; it should clear the $1 billion mark with change in the coming weeks.
Numbers via THR
