Marvel's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" continues to rake in millions a few days after it was released internationally. The much awaited film earned $201.2m just last weekend.
"The bar was high, but this is a sign of unbelievable momentum in the marketplace," Disney's distribution chief Dave Hollis said.
Hollis added that the success was also brought about by the "strength of the brand," as well as Marvel's creative genius in creating worlds where superheroes exist. Both Disney and Marvel were expecting to make around $160m to $175m with the international launch of "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," which the film has already exceeded.
The movie has also broken IMAX records as the largest international opening in its history. Age of Ultron earned $10.4m in international theaters, excluding China, IGN reported.
The Avengers franchise director Joss Whedon also shared that there were personal touches on this year's film, and said he explored the strengths and weaknesses of each character on the story. The film showed the human side of the Avengers.
"They are enormously strong and they are a team, so you have to dig the knife in where you can and sort of dismantle them a little bit. It is a more personal film than the first. We have more opportunity, now that they have met and the audience has met them and understands their world, to dig into their psyches, and not everything in there is pretty," Whedon told the media.
Knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D. went down in Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie made creating the storyline for the Age of Ultron more realistic for the writer-director of the franchise. Since S.H.I.E.L.D is no longer around, the Avengers are now "free agents," according to Whedon, which would reveal an entirely new world for the film's fans.
"The Avengers are cleaning up the mess made by S.H.I.E.L.D and by the Chitauri fallout, and by everything that came before and there are new players out there," Whedon explained.
Exposing the characters' human sides is one thing; fighting the greatest villain is another. In the latest Avengers movie, the team will be facing Ultron, which is why it's just a must to see it on the big screen.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron will be coming to US theaters on Friday, May 1.
