New ‘Avengers’ movie reaches ‘Star Wars’ pinnacle
AVENGERS: Infinity War flexed its considerable muscle anew this weekend in US theatres, pulling in a robust $112.5million (R1.4-billion) and leaving other top films in its dust.
The three-day take by the Disney/ Marvel superhero epic gave it the second-highest second weekend of all time, behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Only five movies have hit the $100million mark in their second weekends, according to Variety.com.
Avengers sees a veritable army of superheroes – including Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Ironman (Robert Downey Jr) and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) — joining forces to save the universe from purple alien Thanos (Josh Brolin).
Globally, Avengers hit the $1-billion mark in just 11 days – the fastest ever – and it has yet to open in China. But with its enormous success,
Avengers has left little oxygen for its competitors. The second-highest US grosser, new rom-com Overboard, trailed in its distant wake at just $14.8-million (R186-million).
Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez star in the Lionsgate remake of a 1987 movie about a struggling single mother who persuades a rich playboy with amnesia that they are married.
In third spot was Paramount’s sci-fi horror film A Quiet Place, at $7.6million (R96-million). The near-wordless production stars actor/director John Krasinski and his real-life wife Emily Blunt as a couple silently struggling to protect their family from blind aliens that track their prey by sound.
STX Films’ comedy I Feel Pretty, starring Amy Schumer as a self-conscious woman who suffers a head injury and sees herself as ravishingly beautiful, was fourth at $4.9-million (R61-million).
And in fifth was Rampage, from Warner Bros, at $4.6-million (R56million). The film follows Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson as a primatologist who befriends an albino gorilla, which grows enormous after a rogue experiment before teaming up with Johnson against invading monsters. Rounding out the top 10 were: Tully ($3.2m/R40m) Black Panther ($3.1m/R39m) Truth or Dare ($1.9m/R24m) Super Troopers 2 ($1.8m/R23m) Bad Samaritan ($1.8m)