Marvel has finally announced that the mystery movie opening on May, 6, 2016 will be "Captain America 3."
The news comes as no surprise given the success of the second installment. Disney recently opened "The Winter Solder" to $95 million, breaking the April opening record. However, if the movie does indeed open on this week, it will confront major competition from Warner Bro's upcoming "Batman vs. Superman" flick.
Both films would be released on the same day causing intense competition from fanboys. While it could garner box office records with two films opening with $100 million because of the number of fans and audiences that would go to the cinemas on that day, it could also be problematic to the both individual's films grosses.
When it was first announced that Marvel would program a film on this day, it was predicted that Marvel would be the more affected by the two big studios. However after "Captain America's" opening it is obvious that the series has garnered a major following and could be major competition to "Batman vs. Superman."
"Batman vs. Superman" could also get detractors especially after the "Man of Steel" movie garnered mixed reviews and had a controversial ending that fans did not agree with. Additionally the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman may detract people especially since "The Dark Knight" series is so recent.
"The Amazing Spider-Man" suffered from box office receipts since the reboot came out only five years after "Spider-Man 3." The reason was in part due to the fact that fans were not prepared for a completely new cast and because the story that Sony was telling was essentially the same that the original 2002 film told.
All these factors could cause "Superman vs. Batman" to be at loss. However the movie is rumored to be shaping up to a prequel to the planned Justice League film as Wonder woman has already been announced in the film. That could be a blessing since "The Avengers" movies have worked out well with fans turning out in numbers.
The question that most pundits are curious about however is whether both studios will take the risk and release both movies on the same day. Studios are known for changing dates due to delayed productions and reshoots. Neither film has begun production and given how special effects heavy both are, the films will take a number of months to shoot and edit.
Warner Bros has already delayed "Batman vs. Superman" once so Marvel could be the one to change the date especially since no script has been written and casting has not begun. The movie will most likely star Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan but will Scarlet Johansson, Anthony Mackie, and Samuel L. Jackson return or will they depart to make there own Marvel films. Without a cast and with 2014 halfway over, this could be alarming to Marvel's release plans.
Ultimately however, it is unlikely both companies will take the risk and one is bound change the date.