Box Office Preview: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Aiming to Set Records

Marvel and Disney’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron arrives in theaters this weekend, and is aiming to dethrone Furious 7 – with plans to set a few records of its own.

Overseas, Age of Ultron has already accumulated more than $250 million from 44 territories last weekend. According to Fandango, presale tickets for the sure-to-be blockbuster are equal to past Fandango presales for all previous Marvel Studios films combined.

Disney predicts Age of Ultron will set domestic box-office records of becoming the second film in history to debut with $200 million, while others are predicting it to reach $215 million or more. The first Avengers opened with $207.4 million and became the first film to exceed the $200 million mark, and was also ranked as the third highest grossing film ever after earning $1.5 billion in 2012.

“When you get into this realm it’s hard to call,” said Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “People really like the first movie and the other Marvel movies have helped keep the franchise afloat.”

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Currently, the $250 million-production holds a decent 75 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, slightly lower than the 92 percent ranking the first installment received.

Directed and written by Joss Whedon, the superhero sequel will feature original cast members Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth. In addition, newcomers Aaron Johnson (Quicksilver) and Elizabeth Olsen (The Scarlett Witch) will be starring in the action film.