Disney and Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War continues to do mighty business at the box office, earning an estimated $75.3 million Friday on its way to $180 million for its domestic debut — the fifth best opening weekend ever. The stellar tally from industry estimates gives the superhero film the eighth best opening day in history, just ahead of The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($72.7 million) and behind The Dark Knight Rises ($75.8 million)
The film, which centers on a disagreement that forces the Avengers to choose sides between Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is expected to take at least the fifth best opening ever, jumping ahead of Iron Man 3’s $174 million debut. It could even come closer to matching Avengers: Age of Ultron’s huge $191 million opening from 2015 (Age of Ultron earned $84.4 million Friday). Civil War, which features many Avengers stars including Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner, has garnered strong reviews, currently holding a 91 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also earned a strong A overall CinemaScore (and A+ in several demos). Directed by the Russo brothers, the film also introduces some new faces to the Marvel cinematic universe including Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland). Civil War, which is kicking off the summer season, is also soldiering to big numbers overseas after beginning its rollout last weekend. It will easily surpass $300 million internationally. Disney will take the No. 1 and No. 2 spots this weekend domestically with The Jungle Book set to place second in its fourth weekend out. It will earn another $23 million to bring its domestic tally to around $286 million.
