‘Captain Marvel’ crowdfunding campaign to hold free theater screenings for girls tops $60,000

Brie Larson stars as "Captain Marvel," a space-traveling superhero who returns to Earth to fight off an invasion. The film hits theaters March 8, 2019. (Chuck Zlotnick)

A crowdfunding effort to pay for free theater screenings of “Captain Marvel” for girls and young women has now raised more than $60,000, three times its original goal.

Donors to cause — to send girls to Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie — include Ellen DeGeneres’ “The Ellen Show” and NBCUniversal’s E! News, which each gave $10,000 to the GoFundMe campaign. Also ponying up for the “Captain Marvel” free screenings was Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe, who donated $2,500. Currently, 1,170 donors have given $60,825 to the campaign at gofundme.com/captainmarvel.

“Every girl deserves to know she can be a hero,” says the campaign’s page on GoFundMe, which launched Jan. 8.

The #CaptainMarvelChallenge crowdfunding initiative was started by We Tell Stories, the organizer behind the #BlackPantherChallenge, which last year raised more than $1 million and provided free screenings of “Black Panther” for 73,000 children. The “Captain Marvel” campaign was launched in partnership with Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles, which serves girls in Title I schools in South Los Angeles, Watts and Compton.

“Captain Marvel,” starring Brie Larson in the title role, hits theaters Friday, March 8, which is also 2019 International Woman’s Day (during Women’s History Month). The film is expected to generate over $100 million in North America over its opening weekend.

The movie is significant because of its female-empowerment message, according to We Tell Stories and Girls Inc. LA. “Everyone should have an opportunity to see women in roles they can aspire to one day be, roles that show women as strong, smart and bold,” the organizers say on the GoFundMe page. “From a teacher to a fighter pilot — or a superhero. This is an opportunity to continue to empower girls to be just that.”

Funds from the campaign will go toward purchasing tickets and renting out theaters for “Captain Marvel” showings. Any additional funds raised will go toward Girls Inc. LA and We Have Stories to support different programming efforts, according to the organizers.

At the current donation amount, the #CaptainMarvelChallenge will provide free tickets to nearly 2,000 kids. The cost breakdown, per the organizers, is estimated to be $13 per child ticket, $13 in refreshments per child and $17 per chaperone ticket. GoFundMe charges a transaction fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation.