'Avengers: Infinity War' smashes global box office records in opening weekend
People visit the 'Avengers: Infinity War' exhibition at the IAPM shopping mall in Shanghai, China, on April 25, 2018.
Disney and Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War" smashed global box office records with an estimated US$630 million, setting a new high-water mark for an opening weekend.
The superhero film brought in an estimated US$250 million in North American theatres, which is the biggest North American opening weekend of all-time, shattering the record previously held by 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which opened with US$248 million. It also earned US$380 million internationally this weekend, pushing its cume to US$630 million worldwide, the highest global debut of all-time. Universal's "The Fate of the Furious" was the previous record holder for global opening with US$541.9 million in 2017, according to studio figures collected by comScore.
Based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, "Avengers: Infinity War" is the sequel to 2012's "The Avengers" and 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the film tells the story of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy who attempt to stop Thanos, one of the most powerful, insane and evil of all villains in the Marvel universe, from collecting the Infinity Stones.
"This is a truly fitting debut for the latest Marvel popcorn extravaganza that brings together an almost unimaginable number of key characters into one giant thrill ride of a movie," wrote movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian at comScore in an email to Xinhua.
Paramount's horror thriller "A Quiet Place" came in a distant second with an estimated US$10.65 million in its fourth weekend in North America. The film has brought in US$148.17 million in North America to date.
"A Quiet Place" was directed by John Krasinski, who stars with his wife, Emily Blunt. The plot of the film follows a family who must live life in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
STX's comedy film "I Feel Pretty" landed in third place with an estimated US$8.13 million in its second weekend in North America. Written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, in their directional debuts, the film follows an insecure woman who believes that she is the most beautiful and capable woman in the world after suffering a head injury from a fall.
Fourth place of North American weekend box office goes to Warner Bros.' science fiction monster film "Rampage" with an estimated US$7.1 million in its third weekend. Disney and Marvel's another superhero "Black Panther" finished fifth with an estimated US$4.38 million in its eleventh weekend.
