The domestic total beat the $18.7 million grossed by the first Avengers movie’s midnight showings (see “'Avengers' Tracking For Big Opening“) but this total was boosted by showings beginning at 7pm, and a $3 million IMAX showing total (a debut record for IMAX viewings, besting the $2.3 million from The Dark Knight Rises).  That said, the Age of Ultron debut was well behind the Thursday night preview record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which opened with $43.5 million in July 2011.

The first Avengers film set a $207.4 million record for weekend openings, and box office trackers believe Age of Ultron will surpass that total, according to the report. The film is opening at 4,276 locations this weekend.

The North American numbers bring Avengers: Age of Ultron’s worldwide total to $314.9 million since the April 22 overseas opening, which includes $37.2 million from South Korea, $35.9 million in the U.K., $20.9 million from Russia, and $19.7 million from Brazil. The film also set a new opening day record of $6.8 million in Mexico.  

The film grossed over $200 million in its first weekend (last week) overseas (see "'Avengers' Sequiel Boffo Overseas").