MARVELLOUS START
Avengers Infinity hits the box office with an action-packed bang
IT WAS a record-breaking weekend for the North American box office as
Avengers: Infinity War steamrolled the competition with heroic takings of $257.7-million (R3.2-billion).
Avengers, the latest Marvel heavyhitter after the breakout success of
Black Panther, sees a string of superheroes pitch in to save the universe from powerful purple alien Thanos (Josh Brolin).
South Africa also saw large crowds of people flocking into cinemas to watch the latest Marvel creation. Cinemas all over the country had the biggest opening of all time with R24.6million (287 000 attendances) over the weekend.
Returning to their Marvel roles are Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
Captain America, Black Panther, the Hulk, Spider-Man and Hawkeye are also back for more, along with the Guardians of the Galaxy and assorted allies.
Globally, Avengers – the third film in the Avengers saga and the 19th in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – also broke records, clinching the highest worldwide opening of all time with a dizzying $641-million (R8-billion).
At US and Canadian box offices, scifi horror A Quiet Place came in second, but posed no threat whatsoever to the Avengers victory, earning $11million (R138-million) in its fourth weekend.
That brings total takings to $148.5million (R1.8-billion) for Paramount’s near-wordless production, which stars John Krasinski and real-life wife Emily Blunt as a couple silently struggling to protect their family from blind aliens that track their prey by sound.
Third place, with $8.2-million (R103-million), went to I Feel Pretty ,a comedy starring Amy Schumer as a self-conscious woman who suffers a head injury and subsequently sees herself as beautiful.
Last week’s number two, Rampage dropped into fourth place, earning $7.2-million (R90-million) for a total of $78-million (R979-million) in three weeks.
Fifth place saw a resurgence of
Black Panther, up from eighth place last week. In its 11th weekend in theatres, the smash hit added $4.7million (R59-million) – bringing its domestic total to a stunning $688.4million (R8.6-billion). —