AMC Is Hosting A 31-Hour MCU Marathon Ahead Of The Release Of 'Avengers: Infinity War' [Updated]
Update: AMC Theatres has announced that the Marvel marathon will include 12 Marvel Cinematic Universe films and be held in two locations. More information is included below.
AMC's MCU marathon is back. And it's 31 hours long.
The movie theater chain first introduced the insane endeavor in 2012 ahead of the release of The Avengers. But that 12-hour marathon would soon increase to 28 hours with Avengers: Age of Ultron. Both Marvel marathons cost the lives of no one and the sanity of many, but they seem like cake walks compared to the 31-hour monstrosity that AMC is holding ahead of Avengers: Infinity War. Because in the three years since the last marathon, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has swelled to 18 (!) movies. At least this marathon doesn't include the TV shows.
AMC knows you love Marvel movies. But the question is, do you love them enough to watch 18 of them for 31 hours straight?
Update: AMC's website promotes its Avengers: Infinity War marathon opening on April 25, 2018. So far, the marathon will only screen in New York City and Orlando, Florida.
The marathon has a 31-hour duration, which is shorter than the MCU's actual run-time of 38.75 hours, and will show only 12 MCU films. The marathon starts with Iron Man at 1:30 p.m. on April 25 and ends with Infinity War at 6 p.m. on April 26. Here is the full list of the movies that will be screened below.
Captain America: Winter Soldier and Thor: Ragnarok — two movies whose events lead straight into Infinity War — are notably absent. But it seems like the marathon only includes the first films in the solo franchises (except for Ant-Man) and Civil War, as it's essentially Avengers 2.5.
So who is this event for? Assuredly not for the average moviegoer, who has probably missed a Marvel movie or two leading up to the penultimate Avengers sequel, Infinity War. No, this is a test of willpower.
Because this 2018 marathon is essentially a day and a half of sitting sleep-deprived in a dark theater. No normal person would do this, except for maybe die-hard Marvel fans and unhinged journalists itching to test their mental well-being and sense of smell (for what it's worth, we're already talking about which /Film staff member is going to undergo this).
There's no question that the idea of a 31-hour Marvel movie marathon will bring in legions of fans. The comic book movie studio has become a box office and cultural juggernaut since it was launched with 2008's Iron Man. Its 18 films have made $14.6 billion worldwide — a total that's climbing every week with the ongoing runaway success of Black Panther.
As the culmination of 18 films worth of lead-up, Avengers: Infinity War is posed to be another record-breaking hit. And a slew of Marvel movies will follow, including Ant-Man and the Wasp in July 2018 and Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019. By the time Avengers 4 rolls around on May 3, 2019, the MCU will be up to 22. Now that MCU marathon will be straight-up insane.
Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 26, 2018.
Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet — the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.