Incredibles 2 May Pass Age of Ultron At Box Office This Weekend

[Black Panther]

Incredibles 2 is poised to surpass Avengers: Age of Ultron on the all-time domestic box office charts this weekend. Pixar's superhero sequel is one of the biggest hits of 2018 so far, as it broke records for animated films in its opening. In fact, its debut weekend haul of $182.6 was higher than many recent live-action comic book movies, including Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming. After waiting 14 years for the Parr family to return to the big screen, audiences came out in full force to see their next adventure.

While Incredibles 2's time in the #1 position on the weekend charts was short-lived due to the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, it has done very well in the early stages of its theatrical run. As of this writing, Pixar's blockbuster has earned $448.2 million in the U.S., already ranking as the third highest-grossing movie of 2018. Even with the multiplex getting a little more crowded this weekend with Ant-Man and the Wasp, Incredibles 2 is about to pass a major financial milestone.

According to Box Office Pro, Incredibles 2 is estimated to earn $27.3 million in its fourth weekend. This would take its domestic total up to $500 million, meaning it would sail past Age of Ultron ($459 million) and become the fifth highest-grossing superhero movie of all-time.

With Incredibles 2 still going strong, odds are its climb up the ladder won't stop there. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is fourth on the superhero list with $534.8 million, which is a figure Incredibles 2 should be able to beat as well. It'll be interesting to see if it can work its way into the top three, which is populated by a collection of MCU films that have grossed in excess of $600 million domestically. Currently, Incredibles 2 is the only high-profile animated movie on the market, but that'll change next weekend when Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation opens in theaters. While that franchise isn't exactly a box office juggernaut, it should still take away some business from Pixar, meaning Incredibles 2 might have to "settle" for fourth place. That would still make it the biggest animated movie ever made, topping Finding Dory's $486.2 million.

Incredibles 2 director Brad Bird was coming off a commercial and critical disappointment in Tomorrowland, so this was a nice rebound for him. There would clearly be interest in a third installment, but Bird is looking ahead to doing something original next. He's already shot down the possibilities of making sequels to Ratatouille or The Iron Giant, so odds are Incredibles 3 isn't on the forefront of his mind, either. After all, it took him 14 years to release a sequel everyone was clamoring for.