Avengers: Age of Ultron hits $425M worldwide
While its actual $84 million domestic Friday opening were less than the overly optimistic record-breaking $97 million predictions, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron‘ has conquered each of the 88 markets its playing.
Friday’s haul in the U.S. was still good enough for second place all-time as the film is poised to break the $207 million opening weekend record set by its 2012 predecessor. Outside the U.S. Avengers has already scooped up $340 million led by $43 million from South Korea and $39 million in the U.K.
Interestingly, ‘Ultron’ is currently playing in 4,276 theaters good enough for 13th widest opening of all time, but still down a bit from the 4,349 of the first film. ‘Ultron’s’ biggest competition won’t be in the theaters, but rather other entertainment options including the highly-anticipated the Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather fight, the Kentucky Derby and the second round of the NBA playoffs.
The key will be how AOU withstands the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and the Kentucky Derby, that will truly determine if it breaks it’s own opening weekend record or not. A strong Saturday-Sunday could mean 210-215 million, a weaker sat-sun could mean 200-205 million. Either way it’s just hard to complain about a film making 200 million it’s opening weekend when even the most anticipated and buzzed about films rarely ever cross 150 million their opening weekend. I know even I have to catch myself because the ‘Avengers’ franchise has a lot of success to live up to and it faces the unfair expectations from many of us that every other film and franchise does not have to face. Because I know at the end of the day if AOU just manages to reach say 200 million on the nose this weekend, I’m definitely not going to look back at it and say it was a failure, how could I. Afterall there is certainly no other film that has touched 200 million it’s opening weekend outside of the ‘Avengers’ franchise.