USA TODAY US Edition

Film fans of Fandango can’t wait for ‘Infinity War’

- Bryan Alexander

Avengers: Infinity War is near, and moviegoers are eager for the battle to begin.

The long-hyped coming together of all the Marvel superhero forces (in theaters May 4) tops Fandango.com’s list of 2018’s most-anticipate­d movies, followed by Black Panther and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

The ticket site surveyed more than 8,000 visitors who described themselves as frequent moviegoers.

“People have been waiting for the entire Marvel Universe to appear onscreen for a long time,” says Erik Davis, Fandango’s managing editor. “Fans love these combinatio­ns of heroes; seeing Guardians of the Galaxy characters interactin­g with Thor for the first time is going to be really interestin­g.”

Before appearing in Infinity War, Chadwick Boseman will lead the charge as the title character in Black Panther

(out Feb. 16), the second-most-popular film in the poll. The landmark film — which features a black superhero, a primarily African-American cast and an African-American director (Ryan Coogler) — will make a powerful statement, Davis says.

“Like Wonder Woman in 2017, Black

Panther is going to be a film that will enhance a conversati­on that’s already happening. Audiences are demanding more diverse casts and stories.”

Chris Pratt, another Infinity War star, helped propel Jurassic World:

Fallen Kingdom (June 22) to third place. Pratt also was voted the top fanfavorit­e actor in the poll. “It just goes to show that people love dinosaurs, this

Jurassic franchise and a cast with Chris Pratt in the lead,” Davis says. Ryan Reynolds and his untitled

Deadpool sequel (June 1) landed in fourth, followed by the spinoff Solo: A

Star Wars Story (May 25), Pixar’s Incredible­s 2 (June 15) and Fantastic Beasts follow-up The Crimes of Grindelwal­d (Nov. 16).

Landing at No. 8 is director Ava DuVernay’s fantasy adventure A Wrinkle in Time (March 9). The new X-Men: Dark Phoenix (Nov. 2) took ninth, followed by the all-female heist reboot Ocean’s 8 (June 8).

The poll also found:

Scarlett Johansson, who plays Black Widow in Infinity War, took highest honors for fan-favorite actress. She was followed by X-Men star Jennifer Lawrence, Infinity War’s Zoe Saldana, Sandra Bullock of Ocean’s 8 and Emilia Clarke, the Game of Thrones star appearing in Solo.

Infinity War stacked the fan-favorite movie male list with Pratt, Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. (No. 3) and Captain America Chris Evans (No. 4). Deadpool Ryan Reynolds was second, and Dwayne Johnson, who will be seen in the thrillers Skyscraper and Rampage, landed in fifth.

The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira, whose character Okoye will be revealed in Black Panther and Infinity War, topped the list of rising female stars. Han Solo himself, Alden Ehrenreich, took top male rising star for Solo.

Boseman’s Black Panther was named most-anticipate­d comic-book character in a stand-alone movie.

Josh Brolin, as über-bad Thanos in Infinity War, was voted most-anticipate­d screen villain.

The untitled Cloverfiel­d (Feb. 2) was the most-anticipate­d horror movie.

Incredible­s 2 was top family film.

 ?? DISNEY/MARVEL STUDIOS ?? Chadwick Boseman breaks barriers in “Black Panther.”
DISNEY/MARVEL STUDIOS Chadwick Boseman breaks barriers in “Black Panther.”

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