“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” leapt into action at the box office on Friday, scoring a huge $37.1 million, making it the biggest single-day take ever in the month of April.
The acclaimed Marvel sequel is on its way to a $90 million-plus debut, and will easily eclipse previous April champ “Fast 5,” which opened to $86 million in 2011.
Likewise, “Winter,” — which stars Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson — is leaving the first “Captain America” film in the dust. 2011's “Captain America: The First Avenger” opened to $65 million.
Like “Iron Man 3” and “Thor: The Dark World,” the latest “America” movie has benefitted from 2012's colossal “The Avengers.”
Marvel Studios hopes to continue its hot streak with this summer's “Guardians of the Galaxy.” They are also developing a third “Captain America” film.
Meanwhile, in distant second place was Darren Aronofksy's divisive biblical epic “Noah,” which scored $4.9 million in its second Friday.
So far, the Russell Crowe film has earned a decent $60 million, but will have some trouble earning back its $125 million price tag domestically.
The YA adaptation “Divergent” picked up another $4.1 million, bringing its domestic total to a string $105.2 million.
The independent religious drama “God's Not Dead” continues its strong performance, placing fourth on Friday with $2.2 million. It stands at $27 million.
Wes Anderson's all-star comedy “Grand Budapest Hotel” checked in at No. 5, picking up $1.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $28.9 million.
Look for continuing box office updates throughout the weekend on HitFix.