Disney's Infinity Vision Draws 52% of Box Office From 43% of Screens

A seven-year-old movie topped the American box office over the weekend, and Disney is treating the result as a referendum on a brand that did not exist a few months ago.

The re-release of "Avengers Endgame: Encore" grossed $26 million to finish No. 1 in the US. But the number Disney cares about is $13.5 million — the portion generated on screens certified under "Infinity Vision," the company's new designation for theater screens it considers up to its own audio and visual standards. According to figures cited by IndieWire, that $13.5 million represents 52 percent of the film's box office drawn from just 43 percent of its screens.

"Endgame: Encore" opened on over 3,000 screens, and more than 1,300 of them earned Infinity Vision certification. Every ticket buyer for those showtimes saw the Infinity Vision logo next to the listing and chose that theater and showtime over the alternatives.

Infinity Vision is not a specific format. It is not necessarily a Premium Large Format screen, and it is not IMAX. It exists, as IndieWire reports, because "Avengers: Doomsday" will not play in IMAX when it opens on December 18. IMAX screens that day belong to "Dune: Part Three," which opens the same date and was shot with IMAX cameras — a fact that gives Denis Villeneuve's return to Arrakis priority over Marvel's latest superhero release.

So Disney is building the case, ahead of "Doomsday," that Infinity Vision is itself an event — something special, and not "less than" IMAX, even if, as IndieWire notes, IMAX and Villeneuve would beg to differ. "Endgame: Encore" served as the first Infinity Vision release before Disney stakes everything on its biggest film of the year.

Nearly half the money from a little under half the screens may look like an unremarkable ratio. Disney reads it differently: the numbers are exactly what the studio wanted and evidence the branding will register when "Doomsday" arrives.

"I think we're all going to learn more about this," Andrew Cripps, Disney's head of theatrical distribution, told IndieWire. "This is the first time out for Infinity Vision. We have marketed it, and we've had our exhibitor partners very engaged with this. If you go on the ticketing websites, there's Infinity Vision banners on them. We've set up an Infinity Vision website with frequently asked questions so people can understand. But as you know, it takes a while to launch a brand and a new concept. So hopefully over time, people will become familiar with it and seek out Infinity Vision theaters."

The strategy included releasing Infinity Vision tickets for pre-sale before standard tickets went on sale, so core fans buying earliest also knowingly picked the higher-quality screens. That early access gives exhibitors a reason to certify. Cripps said at least two circuits are actively upgrading screens toward certification, including several Cinemark locations in Latin America pushing to install Dolby 7.1 audio.

The early returns for "Doomsday" point the same direction. IndieWire previously reported that a large chunk of the $50 million the film has already brought in via pre-sales came on Infinity Vision screens — currently 73 percent of all "Doomsday" pre-sales. "Endgame: Encore" even played a few IMAX screens that "Doomsday" will not have, so the Infinity Vision share of "Doomsday," across far more screens, could exceed what it delivered for the re-release.

"We want those first audiences to see it in the best possible environment, and the fact that they're snapping up the biggest and best screens is a very positive thing," Cripps said.

Many Infinity Vision screens carry no surcharge. Disney does not set those prices; an upcharge applies only if the exhibitor had already classified the screen among its PLF offerings. Nor is Infinity Vision anti-IMAX, despite appearances — several Disney titles for next year are already confirmed for IMAX releases. The designation simply marks screens Disney deems up to standard, and the studio hopes exhibitors will keep cooperating on future tentpoles and that other studios might adopt the branding if it proves effective.

No other films are currently scheduled to open in Infinity Vision beyond "Doomsday," leaving December 18 as the format's first true stress test against "Dune: Part Three" on the IMAX screens Disney could not get.

"Long-term expectations are still evolving," Cripps said. "We'll learn with every release that we have. We're doing a deep dive with all of our markets around the world, and with our exhibitor partners, and we will get to a good place with all of this."