‘AVENGERS’ ASSEMBLE AT TOP OF THE BOX OFFICE
LOS ANGELES— It was a record-breaking weekend for the North American box office as “Avengers: Infinity War” steamrolled the competition with heroic takings of $250 million, industry estimates showed on Sunday.
The latest Marvel big-hitter after the breakout success of “Black Panther,” “Avengers” sees a string of superheroes pitch in to save the universe from powerful purple alien Thanos (Josh Brolin).
Comebacks include Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
Globally, “Avengers”—the third film in the “Avengers” saga and the 19th in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise—also broke records, clinching the highest worldwide opening of all time with a dizzying $630 million.
At US and Canadian box offices, sci-fi horror “A Quiet Place” came in at second—but posed no threat whatsoever to the “Avengers” victory—earning $10.7 million in its fourth weekend.
Third place, earning $8.1 million, went to “I Feel Pretty,” an Amy Schumer film about a selfconscious woman who suffers a head injury and subsequently sees herself as beautiful.
Last week’s number two, “Rampage,” dropped into fourth place, earning $7.1 million for a total of $77.9 million in three weeks. The film follows Dwayne Johnson as a primatologist who befriends an albino gorilla.
Fifth place saw a resurgence of “Black Panther” into the top five, up from eighth place last week, taking $4.3 million.