The Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially moved past $18 billion at the box office thanks to Captain Marvel. Marvel Studios launched an interconnected universe based on characters from Marvel Comics back in 2008 with Iron Man, but not even they could’ve predicted how big it would become. The franchise is currently in its third “Phase” and is nearing the completion of it with Avengers: Endgame. But, after twenty films, they finally made one with a female lead.

Marvel Studios cast Brie Larson as Carol Danvers back in 2016, two years after they announced that Captain Marvel was going to be made. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck were hired to helm the film, and with the movie now in theaters, it’s quickly becoming a success. Captain Marvel had the sixth-highest worldwide opening weekend of all-time, grossing a whopping $455 million.

Thanks to the box office surge of Captain Marvel, the MCU has now earned over $18 billion at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo. This latest milestone by the shared universe comes upon the release of its twenty-first film in eleven years. The achievement further solidifies the MCU’s claim as the highest grossing franchise of all-time, and there’s no sign of it slowing down anytime soon.

The financial success of the MCU has only picked up steam in recent years, as Marvel Studios moved to three films a year in 2017. They made $2.5 billion that year, but then 2018 was filled with record-setting numbers. The releases of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp last year gave the MCU an additional $4 billion. With Captain Marvel expected to cross $500 million at the box office today, it may be on its way to adding another billion dollars to the MCU’s total all on its own.

This is truly a case of the rich getting richer, and the remaining MCU films for 2019 hold plenty of promise for more success. Building off the hype around Infinity War, the highly-anticipated followup Avengers: Endgame is just over a month away from hitting theaters. It’s widely expected to break box office records in its opening weekend and likely earn $2 billion on its own (just like Infinity War). Additionally, the MCU will kick off Phase 4 with Spider-Man: Far From Home later this summer. Even though it’s a Sony release, the likely massive box office returns will also count towards the MCU’s total. So, even though Captain Marvel has helped them just cross the $18 billion mark, it’s very likely that this total will have eclipsed $20 billion before 2019 is over.

MORE: Captain Marvel’s Box Office Is Bigger Than Anyone Expected

Source: Box Office Mojo

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