Marvel: ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ Breaks Hong Kong Box Office Records

Avengers: Age of Ultron, the much anticipated sequel to Marvel’s 2012 smash hit, The Avengers, broke the single-day Hong Kong local box office records, according to the South China Morning Post.

Age of Ultron’s$9,611,044 opening day box office take bested Hong Kong’s previous public-holiday and non-public holiday records set last year by Amazing Spider-Man 2, which brought in $9,560,768, and Transformers: Age of Extinction, which enjoyed a $7,862,060 haul.

The smashing opening day success of Avengers: Age of Ultron, which opened in Hong Kong a week ahead of its North American release and three weeks ahead of its mainland China release, foreshadows the expectant United States success with most anticipating Age of Ultron to be among the top grossing films of the year, and a possible candidate to best The Avengers box office take, whose $623,357,910 domestic and $895,237,000 foreign earnings combined for over $1.5 billion worldwide gross, landing it as the third highest earning film of all time behind James Cameron juggernauts Avatar and Titanic.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the second in a throng of eagerly awaited tentpole blockbusters scheduled for release by comic book-turned-movie giant Marvel, and speculation is running as rampant as expectations. According to WIRED, the recently re-acquired Spider-Man, a frequent comic book member of The Avengers, may or may not be subtly included in Age of Ultron’s post credit scene. Between now and 2019, Marvel is set to see the release of Captain America: Civil War in 2016, wherein the San Diego Union-Tribune speculates that we may see the seeds sewn of an Iron Man vs. Captain America storyline echoing the Marvel’s comic book “Civil War” arch, as well as the next two films in The Avengers series, Avengers: Infinity War – Part I in 2018 and Avengers: Infinity War – Part II in 2019. Many expect, and certainly hope, that Avengers: Age of Ultron will solidify the direction of the rest of the Marvel releases and give some glimpse into the major plot lines fans can expect going forward.

Also slated for release by Marvel in the next three years are Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Inhumans. Also in development from the Marvel camp are television vehicles for characters Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist as part of Marvel’s partnership with Netflix, which saw the recent release of the wildly successful and critically lauded Daredevil series, which has been greenlit for a second season.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens domestically on May 1, 2015.