Captain Marvel projected to reach Wonder Woman territory with $100+ million opening

Captain Marvel buzz is reaching critical mass as the MCU’s first female-led film looks to be 2019’s first gigantic opening weekend of the year. Early projections for the Marvel superhero film are in and they’re as exciting as fans could hope for — hanging with past groundbreaking films in its same spirit.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Brie Larson-fronted movie is tracking to open at over $100 million in North America, which would be a similar feat to DC’s smash hit Wonder Woman (which opened to $103.3 million back in the summer of 2017).

This would give Captain Marvel the biggest film weekend since Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’s $148 million opening last summer and far surpass the last Marvel film — the sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp, which saw a $75.8 million debut — kicking off the blockbuster season early like its solo superhero predecessor Black Panther.

Captain Marvel, the story of superpowered Air Force pilot Carol Danvers’ complicated position in an intergalactic war, comes from first-time studio directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and will set up Avengers: Endgame — which was directly preceded by a cliffhanger referencing a last-resort call to Danvers. The one-two punch is Marvel’s bid to replicate the success of Black Panther and Infinity War while telling a late-but-welcome story about a female hero — one whom Marvel has such faith in, they signed Larson for a long and lucrative contract.

THR explains that even rival studios are impressed with Captain Marvel’s projections, calling the metrics "giant.” Since both Wonder Woman and Black Panther saw their projections underestimate audience response — specifically because the demographics these films spoke to are often underserved by popular film — Captain Marvel could surpass even these stellar preliminary numbers.

Fans will find out for sure when Captain Marvel opens on March 8.