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Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffaloand Benedict Wong in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Image Credit: Marvel Studios

Even as Black Panther began to rack up the box-office numbers, Marvel fans knew it was all building to this.

For an entire decade, Marvel Studios has rolled out its battle plans, phase by phase, with the precision of Napoleon and the swagger of Patton: Introduce and amass superheroes for an ever-escalating cosmic showdown. Now, the biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe team-up, Avengers: Infinity War has already begun to set records of its own.

On Fandango, Infinity War is outselling the past MCU seven movies — combined — in presale tickets, the mobile-ticketing platform announced Wednesday.

And sales should soar higher as the release date nears, with Infinity War expected to gross as much as $200 million (Dh734.47 million) in its domestic debut, according to early industry projections.

Infinity War is selling more than twice what Black Panther — the year’s highest-grossing movie — was at the same point before release, according to Fandango. Infinity War is expected to top Black Panther as the biggest Fandango preseller ever for a superhero movie. (Worth noting: Much of Infinity War is reportedly set in the Black Panther’s home nation of Wakanda.)

The past seven MCU films — dating back to the summer of 2015 — are Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War and Ant-Man.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grossed $14.8 billion globally before adjusting for inflation.

Avengers: Infinity War releases in the UAE on April 26.