Disney/Marvel’s "Avengers: Age of Ultron" opened in China on Monday with 210 million yuan ($33.9 million), the biggest weekday opening of all time for any movie.
The sequel to the highly successful "Avengers" franchise doubled that of "Iron Man 3" and more than "The Avenger's" initial two-day run in May 2012, the entertainment news portal Deadline.com reported on Wednesday.
The Josh Whedon-directed film also gained the second biggest opening day in China, grossing 29.8 million yuan ($4.8 million) from 7,560 screenings starting at midnight on Monday, surpassed only by the car action blockbuster "Furious 7," according to Movie Box Office.
"Furious 7" achieved the highest midnight box-office sales in China with 50.94 million yuan ($8.2 million) despite opening on a Saturday, and currently holds both the opening day and single day sales records with 410 million yuan ($66.04 million). The film, which starred the late Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, went on to gross a total of 2.4 billion yuan ($386.6 million) after ending its run in China just a day before "Age of Ultron."
Despite coming in second on opening day, industry observers still consider the latest "Avengers" movie to be a record-breaking success.
"'Avengers 2' has already set a new weekday record, as it didn't open on a weekend," Chinese news portal China.org reported on Wednesday. "Many moviegoers still needed to go to work the next day and had to drop their plans to attend the midnight premiere."
The film is expected to attract more Chinese moviegoers this weekend, although it will face a potential heavyweight in the next two weeks as another Disney sci-fi movie "Tomorrowland" will hit Chinese theaters on May 22, the report added.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" features a star-studded cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Idris Elba, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson.
It has already grossed $881 million as of Sunday exclusive of Chinese earnings.