Avengers smashes global box office record in opening weekend
THE new Avengers movie Infinity War has performed like a superhero in its opening weekend, setting a new world record for global box office take.
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AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR took in $630 million in its first weekend ($A83l million), the highest global opening of all time, industry estimates showed on Sunday.
“The latest Marvel juggernaut ... opened with $630m worldwide, making it the largest global weekend tally in the history of film, and this was done without China,” which has a later opening, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
That topped The Fate of the Furious, the eighth instalment of the high-octane action series starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez that opened with more than $530 million globally in 2017.
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Infinity War, which features more than two dozen superheroes fighting to save the universe, also broke the record for highest North American opening weekend, raking in $250 million at US and Canadian box offices.
That beat The Force Awakens, the seventh film in the long-running Star Wars space saga that made $248 million in its opening weekend in 2015.
Infinity War is the 19th film in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), combining a whopping nine franchises and a cast list that reads like a who’s who of Hollywood’s A-list, including Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth.
Along with their assorted allies, their mission is to prevent the powerful purple alien Thanos (Josh Brolin) from destroying the universe.
“We took a picture of every single person whose character has been in the MCU. We hung it up on a wall all around us,” co-director Anthony Russo, who helms the film with his brother Joe, told reporters ahead of its release.
“We basically spent months and months and months talking about where we could go with each character, how we could draw them through the story,” he added.
“Every one of these characters ... has been on a very specific journey through the MCU to arrive at this moment.” This is the third Avengers film, before the final, untitled saga set for next year.
The film cost an eye-watering $300 million to make, according to Hollywood media.
“It was about the most fun creative exercise I think I’ve ever been through in my life,” said Anthony Russo.
Originally published as Avengers smashes global box office record in opening weekend