‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ International Box Office tops $201.2 Million
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" had a huge weekend opening, grossing $201.2 million from 44 foreign markets.
"The bar was high, but this is a sign of unbelievable momentum in the marketplace," said Dave Hollis, Disney's distribution chief. Disney had estimated a debut around $160 million to $175 million. "It all goes back to the strength of the brand and the incredible work the Marvel team does in telling stories in such a consistent way and creating these worlds."
The movie, which brought back the same team of super heroes from "The Avengers" and added newbies, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), has been released in 55% of the international marketplace, which included France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Korea and Germany. In Germany, many of the smaller theaters were boycotting the film due to Disney's decision to increase rental fees.
"We are worried - particularly about eastern Germany," Karl-Heinz Meier, a spokesperson for cinema advocacy group I.G. Nord told Deutsche Welle. "When prices go up, then we have a serious problem that could force movie theaters to close."
Despite the boycott, the film still opened in at least 840 screens throughout the country. The movie grossed $9.35 million in Germany, a record high for a Marvel film. "Avengers: Age of Ultron" was the highest-grossing film in each of the locations where it opened.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" opens in the U.S. on May 1, 2015. The film is expected to earn at least $200 million in the domestic opening weekend. "The Avengers" opened to $207.1 million in 2012 and made a total of $1.5 billion worldwide.
The movie stars Robert Downey Jr. (Ironman), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow).
