Can you feel that buzz in the air, that static crackle of corporate synergy? Do you feel the sudden need to buy a Gillette razor, Kellogg’s brand cereal, or an Audi? It’s Avengers week here in the U.S., which means that everyone and their mother will soon be crowding into mall multiplexes to see the CGI likeness of several movie stars fight the CGI likeness of James Spader. (Look for the A.V. Club’s review tomorrow afternoon.) But while America patiently awaits Age Of Ultron and the summer movie season it unofficially kicks off, the rest of the world has already pledged their allegiance to the blockbuster crossover event.
In a move that’s bound to make Captain America weep, Disney opened the Avengers sequel in a whopping 44 international markets this weekend. Because the language of giant green monsters fighting dudes in giant metal suits is universal, Ultron took home a staggering $200 million—or just a little bit more than what many analysts are expecting it to make stateside in a few days. It was the second best opening of all time in several markets (Russia, South Korea, Brazil), and the best superhero debut ever in the U.K., where $27.3 million is apparently considered a great opening weekend. (Do movies cost way less there? Is it an exchange-rate thing? Or do the Brits just have more weekend entertainment options than we do?) Check back here in a week, when we report on just how much exactly, in U.S. dollars, America wanted to see Thor launch Captain America’s shield with his hammer.
While the rest of the world watched its mightiest heroes reassemble, we lowly Yanks continued to bide our time with a more diverse superteam. In its fourth and surely final week at the top of the domestic box-office charts, Furious 7 pulled in another $18 million, pushing its grand domestic total around $320 million, hopefully at least a small chunk of which will be used to fund another Riddick movie. (Vin has to do something between now and the filming of 2017’s Furious 8.)
While Paul Blart inexplicably triumphed again over armed thugs and terrible reviews, holding down second place with $15.5 million, a handful of new releases failed to make much of an impression. The Age Of Adaline was next on the charts with a modest $13.3 million, presumably from Gossip Girl fans and those who mistook the word “Adaline” for the word “Ultron.” Further down the charts, Little Boy conjured $2.83 million on a little more than a thousand screens despite (or maybe because of) the fact that it’s totally fucking crazy, and Russell Crowe’s The Water Diviner made $1.2 million on 320 screens. And while the seriocomic Nick Kroll vehicle Adult Beginners didn’t make much of a splash in theaters—$40,100 on 10 screens, to be more precise—it did apparently do gangbusters VOD business, as Deadline reports. The big screen is for epic superhero tussles, apparently, and not for watching that one dude from The League get serious on us.
For more detailed numbers, visit Box Office Mojo.