Mediaweek editor James Manning looks at the weekend box office for April 26-29, 2018.
It was a massive weekend for movies around the world, including, of course, Australia.
The latest in the Avengers franchise sent people into cinemas in record numbers busting box office records everywhere.
It’s been a wonderful year for Marvel of course after the success of Black Panther in February.
The records are looked at in more detail below. However, the takings for the top 20 movies here were $28.83m, which is the best this year. It was over $1m ahead of the first weekend of the year when the total was $27.44m with the opening weekend of Jumanji 2 and the second weekend of The Last Jedi.
#1 Avengers: Infinity War $21.39m
Avengers: Infinity War saw the second-biggest weekend opening ever in Australia with a five-day haul of $21.23m after it opened on Anzac Day. The movie opened on a staggering 930 screens indicating just how ready cinemas were for this cash bonanza. The screen average was $22,839. Jumanji 2 was the closest to that figure this year with $19,791 in January.
The biggest-ever weekend opening in Australia remains Stars Wars: The Force Awakens back in December 2015 with $27.25m. Avengers: Infinity War now moves into second spot, jumping ahead of Stars Wars: The Last Jedi on $20.97m. Dropping out of the top 10 is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opened with $14.75m.
Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr at the Avengers: Infinity War premiere (credit Shutterstock)
The Avengers: Age Of Ultron opened with $15.50m in April 2015.
Val Morgan has reported Avengers: Infinity War is now the biggest worldwide opening of all time with US$630m. It has overtaken 2017’s Fate of the Furious (US$542m) and is yet to open in China, the world’s second-largest movie market. It’s also taken the title for the biggest opening of all time in the US with US$250m and is easily on track to reach over $1bn globally.
Infinity War generated a massive all-people Australian audience of 1.73m in its first five days alone. 30% of the weekend audience were 14-24, 57% were aged 18-39 and 55% were aged 25-54. It’s already reached an astounding 17% of males aged 18-39, a notoriously elusive audience.
#2 I Feel Pretty $ 1.50m
The second weekend of the Amy Schumer movie has dropped to #2 and shed 66 screens to 268 for a screen average of $5,606. To-date it has earned $5.87m.
#3 Peter Rabbit $1.22m
In its sixth week the movie is still earning over 1m and holding on 304 screens for a screen average of $4,038. It is bounding up the all-time box office chart for Australian movies and, with a gross to-date of $25.40m ranking it at #8, overtaking Crocodile Dundee 2 over the weekend. To make the top five it will need to push just short of $30m, which will see it overhaul Lion.
#4 A Quiet Place $894,000
This horror outing climbed past $10m on the weekend, which took four weeks to earn.
#5 The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Society $892,000
A second weekend on the chart with a gross climbing close to $3m.
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Top photo: Infinity War (Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel Studios)