Infinity War beats Star Wars in highest US opening ticket sales of all time

(Left to right) Joe Russo, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Letitia Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland and Anthony Russo attending the Avengers: Infinity War UK Fan Event (Matt Crossick/PA) Credit: PA Archive/PA Images

Avengers: Infinity War reached a record $250 million (£181.5 million) in ticket sales in the US over the weekend, narrowly beating Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the highest opening weekend of all time.

However, if inflation is taken into account, the Star Wars reboot would still be top with about $260 million (£188.5 million) in 2018 dollars.

According to estimates by Disney, the Marvel Studios superhero film also set a new global opening record with $630 million (£457 million), even though it’s yet to open in China, the world’s second-largest film market.

The Fate Of The Furious previously held the worldwide mark with $541.9 million (£393 million), and in a very distant second place was John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place with $10.7 million (£7.8 million).

Disney now has nine of the best top 10 opening weekends ever, with six belonging to Marvel releases. That includes Black Panther, which has grossed $1.3 billion (£1 billion) since opening in February and still managed to rank fifth at this weekend’s box office.

“To have now the biggest movie of domestic history as one of the Marvel cinematic universe films seems like a fitting tribute to the Marvel Studios team which has had just an astounding, unmatched run in the last decade,” said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney.

At two hours and 40 minutes long, Infinity War is one of the largest films ever assembled. With a production budget reportedly almost $300 million (£217.7 million), Joe and Anthony Russo’s film brings together the stars of Marvel’s superhero stable, including Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and many more.

It was shot over 18 months back-to-back with a sequel due out next summer. Marvel spent years laying the groundwork for the big showdown, teasing its villain (Josh Brolin’s Thanos) since 2014. It has received mainly positive reviews from cinemagoers.