'Avengers: Doomsday' isn't out yet, but early tickets in the United States have already shown strong audience interest for the return of Marvel's most popular cinematic franchise. According to Variety, the advanced sales have grossed $16.5 million on the first day.

It's important to note that only 1,000 selected theaters were available for purchase during the pre-sales: moviegoers could only buy advanced tickets for premium screenings as part of the 'Infinity Vision' Disney program, created to ensure premium experiences for Marvel fans. The report also revealed that tickets for the first two days, December 17 and Friday 18, are 'largely sold out' and theaters are looking into adding more screenings to support growing demand. 

Everything you need to know about Avengers: Doomsday

The villain of the story in the fifth Avengers film will be Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr., the actor who portrayed the legendary Iron Man in the MCU's Infinity Saga and is now taking on the role of antagonist. Avengers: Doomsday will be directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (Endgame), with a script by Michael Waldron (Loki) and Stephen McFreely (Endgame).

Marvel has already confirmed the main cast members for the new film, in one of the biggest gatherings of MCU stars ever assembled. Returning from previous Avengers films are: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Winston Duke as M'Baku, and Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther.

From characters introduced after Avengers: Endgame — in Phases 4 and 5 of the MCU — we have Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, the entire new Fantastic Four (Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing), nearly the entire cast of Thunderbolts* (Florence Pugh as Yelena, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Hanah John-Kamen as Ghost, and Lewis Pullman as Bob, the Sentry), and Tenoch Huerta as Namor.

In a livestream announcing the cast, there was also the film's biggest surprise so far: the return of the classic X-Men from the old Fox movies, including Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique and, introduced in Deadpool & Wolverine, Channing Tatum as Gambit.

Avengers: Doomsday opens on December 18, 2026.