As we heard yesterday, Avengers: Infinity War is the new king of the box office as the final numbers are in and the Marvel Studios movie actually exceeded expectations with a record-breaking $258.2 million in North America and $382.7 million overseas for a combined total of $640.9 million. Amazingly, the epic ensemble managed to do that without opening in China where it will debut on May 11th.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the previous record holder with $248 million domestically and The Fate of the Furious held the global record with a whopping $541.9 million (which obviously pales in comparison to the total made by Avengers: Infinity War). The Russo Brothers helmed release also had the biggest Saturday ever with $83 million and the biggest Sunday with an impressive $69 million.
"Marvel spent 10 years methodically and carefully creating a universe of characters, worlds and stories that all led to this and, in doing so, created an event unlike anything the business has ever seen," Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis. Studio veteran Cathleen Taff adds: "We have been sitting here all weekend in astonishment." Given these massive numbers, it's pretty easy to see why!
In a surprise twist, Black Pather - now in its 11th weekend - managed to exceed expectations this weekend too when it moved up the chart from #8 to #5 with a great haul of $4.4 million. Not bad, eh?