Disney’s Avengers: Age of Ultron has enjoyed the biggest UK debut of 2015 – and the sequel to Avengers Assemble, which was released in 2012, is also the eighth-biggest opening of all time.

The films success in the UK has been mirrored across 44 other countries, with Yahoo Newshttps://www.yahoo.com/movies/avengers-overseas-box-office-117454595862.html reporting it has taken over £133m ($201.2m) internationally, even before it opens in the US next weekend, well over Disney’s own projections.

The film debuted with £18m, beating Fifty Shades of Grey’s opening of £13.55m, breaking several UK records in its opening weekend including biggest April opening of all time and the biggest IMAX weekend result ever.

The success has helped Disney to its biggest ever single day on Saturday 25th April with £6.2m, which is also the biggest day ever for a superhero film

Avengers: Age of Ultron also passed Avengers Assemble as Marvel’s biggest UK opening to date.

In the new film, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) jumpstarts a dormant peacekeeping program, and things go terribly awry, forcing him, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers to reassemble. As the fate of Earth hangs in the balance, the team is put to the ultimate test as they battle Ultron (James Spader), a technological terror hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they encounter two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.

“The bar was high, but this is a sign of unbelievable momentum in the marketplace,” Dave Hollis, Disney’s distribution chief, said of the film’s international success. “It all goes back to the strength of the brand and the incredible work the Marvel team does in telling stories in such a consistent way and creating these worlds.”

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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek Magazine) and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of "Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies" for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Film

Tags: Avengers Assemble, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disney, Marvel, Marvel Comics