9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Estimated Gross: $525m)
Marvel Studios officially kicks off the summer movie season with the release of the highly-anticipated Captain America sequel on the first weekend of April. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe arguably the strongest brand in Hollywood these days, expect The Winder Soldier to considerably out-gross its predecessor. The first Captain America grossed $370.6m in 2011, with just over 50% coming from overseas markets that may have been slightly deterred by the jingoistic premise. However, 'The Avengers Effect' will see The Winter Soldier earn a lot more. The trailer effectively showcased that this will be a huge departure from the first movie's World War II setting. While casual audiences may not be aware of who the titular villain is, the trailer showcased plenty of large-scale action set-pieces whilst also upping the personal stakes, and of course featured some of the MCU's familiar faces in Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow. Although Captain America isn't the most popular superhero in the cinematic landscape, the Marvel brand is strong enough to ensure that The Winter Soldier does solid business, especially when it has no direct competition in the marketplace until The Amazing Spider-Man 2 arrives almost a month later. Following the release of the universally-liked and $1.5bn grossing Avengers, the last two Marvel releases have received a considerable boost in box office takings. Iron Man 3 grossed more than parts 1 and 2 combined, but that came just a year after The Avengers and featured Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark, one of the most popular characters in cinema. A more realistic comparison would be with Thor: The Dark World, which grossed almost $200m more than the original. Although it won't match Thor 2's $623m total, The Winter Soldier should have little trouble getting to the half-billion mark.
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