Avengers: Doomsday was already making buzz with five months still left before release, and now with a fresh teaser trailer and the first wave of ticket sales, Marvel decided showing up early was the whole plan. The Russo brothers are back directing the 39th MCU installment, because apparently thirty-eight movies were not chaotic enough. Ticket sales are already rolling in months ahead of schedule, and the timing could not have worked out better for Marvel.

Disney barely cracked the door open, and audiences still came sprinting, leaving Marvel with receipts nobody quite expected this soon.

According to Variety, Avengers: Doomsday pulled in $16.5 million in advance ticket sales within its first day of availability, even though those tickets were only up for grabs in premium formats across 1,000 domestic theaters. Disney tied this early window to the debut of the first official trailer rather than rolling out a full nationwide release, yet audiences treated it like opening night anyway. Premium showtimes around the December 18 opening are already largely sold out, and exhibitors are reportedly scrambling to add extra Christmas Day screenings just to keep up. Marvel evidently did not get the memo that films are supposed to build momentum gradually.

Variety also points out that Avengers: Doomsday will not get access to IMAX, since Dune: Part III has claimed that format exclusively for three weeks after both films share the same release date. Marvel responded by inventing its own consolation prize called Infinity Vision, a certification promising theaters meet certain technical standards. Somehow the workaround worked, because this presale haul is already double the opening day numbers Deadpool & Wolverine posted in 2024, a film that eventually crossed $1.3 billion worldwide.

Is Tom Holland in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’? All We Know of Spidey’s Return in Marvel’s New Flick

While the box office keeps writing suspiciously good news for Marvel, a certain super soldier is stirring up trouble of his own inside the trailer.

The newest trailer has fans convinced there might be two versions of Steve Rogers running around, thanks to a scene where Thor squares off against a figure sporting shoulder-length hair, a beard, and a black jacket pulled straight from his Avengers: Endgame farewell. Thor, ever the trusting friend, decides the best way to confirm identity is by hurling Mjolnir at him. Rogers catches it without breaking a sweat, proving worthiness is apparently still intact even after retirement. Marvel, naturally, has said absolutely nothing.

Disney had already been quietly planting seeds for months through four teaser previews attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash screenings, one of which suggested Chris Evans might return as Captain America, now with a child in tow. The returning roster also includes Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Paul Rudd, Letitia Wright and Simu Liu, filling out what may be the most crowded superhero reunion yet. Whether this is a multiversal twist or Marvel simply enjoying the chaos it created, Avengers: Doomsday is proving it can dominate conversations long before it dominates screens.

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Screenings Will Feature 4 ‘Avengers: Doomsday Trailers’ - Here’s When Each One Drops

What are your thoughts on Marvel's record-breaking presales and Steve Rogers mystery? Let us know in the comments.