Avengers: Doomsday was originally scheduled for a May 2026 release, but both it and Avengers: Secret Wars were delayed to December 2026 and December 2027, respectively.
Disney and Marvel Studios staked their claim on December 18 for Avengers: Doomsday, but by then, Dune: Part Three had already been announced for that day and booked up all available IMAX screens. In response, Disney announced "Infinity Vision," granting the newly launched certification to certain PLF screens that met specific levels of quality.
The marketing stunt has paid off for the studio, as Avengers: Doomsday earned a massive $16.5 million during the first 24 hours of tickets being on sale last month.
IMAX executives have largely dismissed "Infinity Vision" as a gimmick, and CEO Rich Gelfond talked more about the format during a recent interview with Matt Belloni.
"Avengers Doomsday was supposed to come out over the summer. It didn't, for whatever reason," he explained. "They understood that they dated second and they couldn't do it. But looking in their own mirrors, they said, 'It probably would be great if we could have IMAX, but we can't. So, what's the closest thing we could do?' And they came up with this idea."
"And the idea was to take pre-existing large format, whatever that is. So, everything with an X, and then put a secure process of certification, which is in a black box. I don't know what it means, but then they'll call it, you know, Infinity Vision."
Gelfond, who clearly isn't impressed with "Infinity Vision," added, "So, we're playing Avengers Doomsday in China. I hope it's a great movie. I hope it does really well. But no, I'm not losing sleep over it."
Like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it's possible that Avengers: Doomsday will get a limited IMAX release at some point in the U.S. That's not guaranteed, but the IMAX boss later confirmed (at the 27:18 mark) that Avengers: Secret Wars is set to play on the company's screens in 2027.
Still, good news for the MCU is bad news for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which will likely miss out on IMAX screens when it opens on the same day as Secret Wars next year: December 17.
The confirmed (or, semi-confirmed, at least) cast of Avengers: Secret Wars includes Robert Downey Jr. (Doctor Doom), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Anthony Mackie (Captain America), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Paul Bettany (The Vision), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), and Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter).
Also appearing are Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing), and Sadie Sink (Jean Grey).
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to refine the story, alongside Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.