Entertainment

'Captain Marvel' tops $1 billion mark globally

Key Points
  • "Captain Marvel" crosses the $1 billion mark at the box office on Tuesday.
  • The Marvel film, which is the first with a female lead, hauls in $358 million in the U.S., but the bulk of sales is international.
  • The Marvel movies have collectively earned more than $18.5 billion, or an average of $880 million per film.
Captain Marvel
Source: Walt Disney Studios

"Captain Marvel" soared higher, further, faster at the box office, crossing the $1 billion mark Tuesday after 25 days in theaters.

The 21st installment of Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe — and its first film with a solo female lead — has earned $1.003 billion internationally since March 8.

Domestically, the film hauled in $358 million, but the bulk of its haul came from international ticket sales. Outside the U.S., it earned $645 million. Action-packed films such as "Captain Marvel" have become increasingly popular in foreign countries, particularly in China, and have boosted their box office tremendously.

DC's "Aquaman" earned 70 percent of its $1.14 billion from markets outside the U.S.

So, too, did "Avengers: Infinity War," which garnered $2.04 billion last year, more than 66 percent of which was from foreign markets.

"Captain Marvel" also benefited from the success of "Infinity War." The heroine was teased as the most powerful superhero and the only one who could take on villain Thanos during the cliffhanger ending of "Infinity War."

Tickets for "Avengers: Endgame" went on sale Tuesday and were met with strong demand. Within six hours, presales topped the previous record for first-day U.S. ticket sales on Fandango. On Atom Tickets, it sold three times more tickets in the first hour of sales than "Infinity War" did last year. It set a record on the site for the best first hour of presales.

The Marvel movies have collectively earned more than $18.5 billion, or an average of $880 million per film.

Disclosure: Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC, owns Fandango.