History is in the making this weekend with the long awaited opening of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The Marvel Studios blockbuster is expected to break the original film's all-time three-day weekend record at the box office, but first? Could Joss Whedon's latest take the single-day record?
“Age of Ultron” soared to no. 1 on Friday earning $84.5 million. That includes $27.6 million in Thursday night previews. Unfortunately, that number couldn't surpass the $91 million “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2” earned on Nov. 24, 2011. It did beat, however, the $80.8 million the first “Avengers” took in on May 4, 2012.
“Ultron,” which earned an A Cinemascore grade, is now expected to take in between $210-215 million by Sunday. That would make it the biggest opening in U.S. history (although many are speculating that record will only last until “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” opens in Dec.). And, yes, that's still very close to the first movie's $207.4 debut, the current record holder. So, it's still possible “Age of Ultron” will come dangerously close to not surpassing its predecessor. Overseas, “Ultron” has already earned a reported $340 million.
While “Ultron” didn't have to face off against any other new arrivals there were some standbys still in theaters on Friday that moviegoers bought tickets for. “The Age of Adaline” took the second spot with another $2.2 million and $19.3 million in just eight days.
“Furious 7” dropped to no. 3 with a $2.1 million take on Friday and a stellar $326.5 million so far.
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” is still finding an audience taking in another $1.7 million and $47.4 million overall.
“Home” rounded out the top five with $870,000 and $155.7 million overall.
Look for complete box office updates all weekend long on HitFix.