Will ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Overtake The First ‘Avengers’ Film At The Box Office?

It’s no secret that Avengers: Age Of Ultron was going to make a lot of money this weekend. It’s only the sequel to the third highest grossing film of all time, not to mention the 11th film in Marvel’s ridiculously successful Cinematic Universe. It was a question, however, of just how much the movie would make. Would it be able to match the success of the first Avengers, which went on to earn over $1.5 billion worldwide? That breaks down to $623 million in the U.S. and $895 million overseas. So, how is Avengers: Age Of Ultron stacking up against its predecessor so far for the weekend?

The Friday numbers are in, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Age Of Ultron has so far grossed around $85 million in the U.S., about $4 million higher than the first Avengers and $6 million less than the highest first day opening of all time (which is a title held by Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2). Most forecasters are predicting a $210 million opening weekend, though Deadline is giving a more conservative $202.6 million prediction. One aspect of the weekend that Deadline is taking into account is the upcoming Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, which is sure to cut in to Avengers’s weekend a bit.

But as important as the opening weekend is to a film in this day and age, the overall lifespan of the movie is what really counts. Will Avengers: Age Of Ultron be able to overtake its predecessor at the end of its theatrical run? The film opened a week early overseas and last weekend opened at $201 million. According to Box Office Mojo, the film performed better than the first Avengers in most of those markets. As of this writing, the foreign box office is at around $287 million. If nothing else, Age Of Ultron is making great strides in becoming the third highest grossing film of all time.

But will Avengers: Age Of Ultron have the long tail that the first movie had? The first Avengers has two advantages over the second film: novelty and better reviews. When Avengers came out in 2012, it was something audiences had never seen before. Audiences had to see how a team-up film ended up, and not only that, they wanted to go to the theaters again and again just to see that circle shot of the Avengers fighting back-to-back. Now that the novelty has worn off, will as many people ultimately show up to the theaters? To top it all off, reviews are substantially less enthusiastic this time around, with Age Of Ultron clocking in at a 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (as opposed to Avengers‘ 92 percent). Will that influence some to take a pass this time around? Or more importantly, is this an indication of how audiences perceive the film, and will it result in less repeated viewings from fans?

Avengers: Age Of Ultron is already bound to make a killing at the box office before its run is up, but as to whether or not it’ll beat the first Avengers…well, it’ll be a close one.

[Image Credits: Comic Book Movie, Den Of Geek, Super Hero Hype]