Box office report: Avengers: Age of Ultron takes first place, surprising no one
Avengers: Age of Ultron continues to dominate the box office, but it keeps falling just short of the records set by its predecessor.
Age of Ultron claimed the second biggest debut of all time when it opened with a whopping $191 million last weekend, just behind 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers. This weekend, Ultron grossed an estimated $77.2 million, surpassing Avatar to become the second-highest second weekend domestic gross of all time — exceeded only by The Avengers’ $103.1 million. Plus, Ultron is now tied with The Dark Knight as the second fastest film to reach $300 million in North America. (Ultron did it in 10 days, but The Avengers did it in nine.)
Internationally, Ultron has snagged $875.3 million — and it still hasn’t opened in China or Japan. It’ll be interesting to watch Ultron challenge the records set by Furious 7 over the next few weeks, especially because Furious 7 is still holding strong in its sixth week. It’s the fourth highest grossing film of all time, and this weekend put Furious 7’s worldwide total at $1.466 billion.
Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara’s new comedy Hot Pursuit was the only big new release this weekend, and it brought in an estimated $13.3 million. The Age of Adaline only dropped about 10 percent, putting the other “Age Of” movie in third place with $5.6 million. And Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 rounded out the top five with an estimated $5.2 million in its fourth weekend.
Age of Ultron hasn’t had too much competition so far, but it’ll face its first real test next weekend when Mad Max: Fury Road and Pitch Perfect 2 debut in North American theaters. PP2 opened in a few international territories this weekend, and it premiered as the No. 1 film in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the first film to dethrone Ultron anywhere.
Here are this weekend’s top five at the box office:
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron — $77.2 million
2. Hot Pursuit — $13.3 million
3. The Age of Adaline — $5.6 million
4. Furious 7 — $5.3 million
5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 — $5.2 million