Disney-Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” dominated social media buzz last week with the release of its first trailer with nearly 500,000 new conversations, according to media-measurement firm comScore and its PreAct service.
The studio dropped the official trailer on Nov. 29 during ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The first footage showed superhero team-ups — the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and almost every other major Marvel hero — joining forces to take on Thanos (Josh Brolin), who is trying to collect the Infinity Stones. The movie picks up four years after the events of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”
The trailer arrived five months after the first footage was screened at Disney’s D23 Expo and at San Diego Comic-Con. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the ensemble cast includes Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Brolin as Thanos, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord.
Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” also generated plenty of buzz last week with 208,000 new conversations as the studio released plot details on Nov. 28-29 and an official image on Nov. 30. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has pulled in more than 4.34 million new conversations two weeks before its Dec. 15 launch. Early tracking released on Nov. 21 showed the tentpole could open in the $200 million range at the domestic box office.
Directed by Rian Johnson, the movie picks up where 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” left off. It stars returning cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Andy Serkis. The new cast members include Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro. It’s the final film role for Fisher, who died last December.
Fox’s “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” produced 82,000 new conversations last week as the studio released teaser posters on Nov. 30. The finale of the “Maze Runner” sci-fi trilogy will open Jan. 26. The movie’s original release date has been delayed for nearly a year in order to allow star Dylan O’Brien to recover from injuries sustained during shooting.
A24’s “The Disaster Artist” generated nearly 76,000 new conversations last week ahead of its Dec. 1 limited opening at 19 U.S. locations. The James Franco dramedy launched impressively with $1.2 million during the weekend, good enough for 12th on the domestic box office chart.
Fox’s dramedy “Love, Simon” produced 59,000 new conversations in the wake of the Nov. 28 release of its first trailer. Nick Robinson stars as a closeted gay high school student forced to balance his friends, his family, and the boy threatening to reveal his true sexuality to the whole school. “Love, Simon” opens March 16.