To the surprise of no one except the absolute worst human beings on the internet, Captain Marvel blasted straight off the runway and is looking at a downright heroic opening. The film, starring Oscar-winner Brie Larson as the long-awaited comic book heroine Carol Danvers, hauled in $61.4 million on Friday night. (Counting its stellar $20.7 million Thursday night previews.) Reports have Captain Marvel's total weekend tally somewhere between $150-160 million, which would be the seventh largest debut in the 21-movie MCU behind only the three Avengers films, Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, and Iron Man 3.

A prequel set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel marks the big-screen debut for the character after the character was teased in the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War. A human being with the training of a Kree warrior and no memories of her time on Earth, Danvers arrives back on her home planet to stop an invasion of Skrulls—shape-shifting aliens led by Ben Mendelsohn's Talos—with the help of a young Nick Fury (played by a digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson).

Not only is Captain Marvel most likely headed to Avengers: Endgame to save all our asses from the Thanos, she's already saved the severely struggling 2019 box office. Even at the lower end of the estimates, Captain Marvel would easily mark the best opening of the year, more than doubling the previous title holder How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World's $55 million debut. To put it in perspective, the highest-grossing movie of the year overall is M. Night Shyamalan's Glass, which has brought in $109 million over seven weeks; Captain Marvel is poised to beat that in a single weekend.

The Marvel effect on the rest of the box office is palpable, too, as the rest of the top 5 took one heck of a beating. How to Train Your Dragon came in a distant second with $3.3 million, followed by Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral at $3.2 million. Then after another monumental leap, Alita: Battle Angel and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part both tied at a mere $800,000, followed by Isn't It Romantic at $700,000.

Take a look at Friday’s numbers below and check back tomorrow for full weekend estimates. (Numbers via Box Office Mojo)