Avengers: Endgame blows up Hollywood records with huge weekend take

[LOS ANGELES] Avengers: Endgame, the hugely anticipated blockbuster from Disney and Marvel, set a new standard for Hollywood this weekend with stunning hauls of US$350 million in North America and US$1.2 billion worldwide, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations estimated Sunday.

To put the North American figure in perspective, that means the latest chapter in the adventures of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and company took in 43 times what the No 2 film, Disney's Captain Marvel, earned for the three-day weekend: a more pedestrian US$8.1 million.

Avengers: Endgame looks likely to remain strong, having drawn a sky-high 96 per cent rating from critics on the Rotten Tomatoes website. With a star-studded cast including Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Josh Brolin, it took in a jaw-dropping US$329 million in China alone, Variety reported.

Avengers: Endgame could lead to "the biggest revenue-generating summer (and year) in box office history," according to Comscore's Paul Dergarabedian.

Back on Earth, last week's top film, Warner Bros' horror flick The Curse of La Llorona, slipped to third spot at US$7.5 million. It stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz and Patricia Velasquez in the story, loosely based on Mexican folklore, of a Los Angeles woman trying to protect her children from a ghost.

In fourth was Breakthrough, at US$6.3 million. The faith-based story of a mother (Chrissy Metz) who refuses to abandon hope after her son (Marcel Ruiz) falls into an icy lake, was produced by NBA star Stephen Curry.

And in fifth was Warner Bros' lighthearted superhero tale Shazam!, at US$5.5 million. It stars Asher Angel as Billy Baston, an unhappy foster kid who becomes a muscular superhero (Zachary Levi) when he utters the titular "Shazam!".

Rounding out the weekend's top 10 were:

Little (US$3.4 million)

Dumbo (US$3.2 million)

Pet Sematary (US$1.3 million)

Us (US$1.1 million)

Penguins (US$1.1 million)

AFP