Marvel
How big will "Avengers: Age of Ultron" be at the box office this weekend? It's aiming for a box-office record of over $200 million.
The question on Hollywood's mind is just how big that weekend will be.
Its predecessor debuted to $207.4 million in 2012, giving it the highest-opening weekend ever at the box office. "The Avengers" then went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time, grossing over $1.5 billion worldwide.
Since then, Marvel's Cinematic Universe has been on a roll with hit after giant hit - "Iron Man 3" ($1.2 billion), "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" ($714 million), and "Guardians of the Galaxy" ($774 million) just to name a few.
The biggest challenge for "Age of Ultron," which has already made over $200 million from an earlier international release, will be seeing whether it can beat the record-setting weekend the original set in 2012.
"I think it will get there for sure," Phil Contrino, the vice president and chief analyst of BoxOffice.com, tells Business Insider.
The film is responsible for more than 95% of Fandango's weekend ticket sales. According to the ticket service, presales for "Age of Ultron" are equivalent to the presales for all Marvel Studios films combined.
Movietickets.com reports ticket sales on its site are 3.7 times greater than that of "The Avengers."
Currently, box-office predictions for "Ultron" range anywhere from $210 million to a large $230 million.
Contrino says BoxOffice.com's final estimate will most likely be slightly above $220 million.
"In terms of [cumulation], in North America I don't think it's going to beat the first movie just because that often happens with sequels where the rush out is massive and you don't see as much staying power necessarily," says Contrino.
The 2012 film made over $623 million domestically.
Even if "Age of Ultron" doesn't end up being as massive as estimates are calling for, it will in no way be a big upset. After "The Avengers" incredible $207.4 million opening in 2012, the next largest box-office opening was 2013's "Iron Man 3" with $174.1 million.
"Any dip that happens in North America, in terms of the overall box office, will be made up by these overseas numbers," Contrino adds. "The big territory where I think 'Avengers' will gain the most ground is China ... 2012 the market was much smaller than it even is now."
Here are the top five largest box-office openings via BoxOfficeMojo:
| Movie | Release Date | Opening Weekend | Worldwide Gross |
| 1. "The Avengers" | 5/4/2012 | $207.4 million | $1.5 billion |
| 2. "Iron Man 3" | 5/3/2013 | $174.1 million | $1.2 billion |
| 3. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" | 7/15/2011 | $169.2 million | $1.3 billion |
| 4. "The Dark Knight Rises" | 7/20/2012 | $160.9 million | $1.1 billion |
| 5. "The Dark Knight" | 7/18/2008 | $158.4 million | $1 billion |
If you don't already have your ticket reserved for the weekend, you may want to get it sooner rather than later to avoid sell outs.
This will be an exciting box-office weekend to watch!