Showing on 4,276 screens across the country, the new film is estimated to have sold $187.7 million in tickets, about 9% below the total racked up by “The Avengers,” which banked a first weekend total of $207.4 million.
The film has already pulled in $439 million for Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) in its 12-days of international release. The combined worldwide total now sits at an estimated $627 million, ranking it at 88th on the all-time worldwide box office list, a few steps below “Thor: The Dark World” and a few notches above “Iron Man 2,” the former from Disney and the later from Viacom Inc.’s (NASDAQ: VIAB) Paramount Studios.
The new movie had some tough weekend competition that could have held down ticket sales. A heavily hyped boxing championship, the Kentucky Derby and a game 7 NBA playoff game were all competing for attention on Saturday. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” posted a big Friday, but ticket sales dropped 18% on Saturday, according to Box Office Mojo, likely due to the fact that the movie’s audience was 59% male and 59% over the age of 25, probably the likeliest demographic for the sports events as well.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” opens in China on May 12, and the film should easily reach $200 million in gross sales with $300 million certainly within reach. “Furious 7,” the seventh film in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, held on to first place in the China box-office sweepstakes, with $31 million ticket sales this past weekend. The film, from Comcast Corp.’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Universal Studios, has earned $381 million in gross receipts in China.
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