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It goes without saying that Avengers: Doomsday is a vitally important release for Marvel Studios. After the unevenness of the Multiverse Saga, the hope is that the film can get the Marvel Cinematic Universe back on track by becoming a major critical and commercial hit. It’s widely expected that Doomsday will perform well at the box office, but its prospects have taken a bit of a hit. With Dune: Part Three securing an exclusive IMAX run, Disney and Marvel will be missing out on a valuable premium format when Doomsday opens this December. Fortunately for them, it looks like this will be a one-time occurance, as history will not be repeating itself next year when Avengers: Secret Wars premieres.
During an earnings call (via CBR), IMAX announced that Avengers: Secret Wars will play in its theaters next December. This puts Secret Wars in a more advantageous position at the box office when compared to its predecessor, and it also gives Disney the edge over a rival blockbuster coming out next holiday season.
Disney Gets the IMAX Advantage Over Warner Bros. in 2027
Securing IMAX screenings for Secret Wars over a year and a half before its release is a massive development for Disney. Over the years, IMAX and other premium formats have become much more prevalent. Audiences go out of their way to seek these showings out because they’re experiences that are impossible to replicate at home. When Project Hail Mary broke records during its opening weekend earlier this year, 54% of the domestic ticket sales came from premium formats (IMAX accounted for 22% of that figure). There’s a reason why studios lock these screenings in as soon as possible.
It was even more important for Disney to strike a deal for Secret Wars now because if they waited, they could have lost those screens to Warner Bros. again. Opening on the same day as Secret Wars is The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which will undoubtedly feature plenty of big-screen spectacle. The original Lord of the Rings trilogy has endured as one of the signature blockbuster series of the 21st century, so WB certainly would have been interested in staking claim to the IMAX theaters. They seemingly have missed their chance, meaning 2027 will essentially be the inverse of Dunesday.
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It’ll be interesting to see if this has any impact on WB’s plans for The Hunt for Gollum. The studio could opt to shift the release date to earlier in December. Right now, there isn’t anything scheduled for the first half of that month. If WB moved The Hunt for Gollum up by a week or two, then the fantasy film could play in IMAX theaters during its opening weekend before Secret Wars arrives. Obviously, that wouldn’t be the same as the three-week run Dune: Part Three has lined up, but it would be better than nothing. WB would be able to enjoy the fruits of IMAX showings for at least a short period of time.
If WB wants to do that, conventional wisdom would dictate finding a new landing spot for The Hunt for Gollum soon before viable dates are filled. However, there may not be a need to rush right now. Knowing Secret Wars and The Hunt for Gollum are set for next December, it’s highly unlikely another studio schedules one of their big genre tentpoles for a week or two before. So, WB probably has some time before it has to make a final decision on that front. It could wait to see how Avengers: Doomsday fares with the public. If Doomsday underwhelms and negatively impacts anticipation for Secret Wars, WB could just take its chances in that mid-December window.
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The MCU’s First Movie After Avengers: Secret Wars Is Obvious After Marvel’s Release Date Change
