Avengers: Age of Ultron picked up a massive $27.6 million from Thursday night shows. That is way ahead of late-night starts for both Iron Man 3 ($15.1 million) and The Avengers ($18.8 million), though its' not a direct apples-to-apples comparison (it opened at 7pm, while Iron Man 3 started at 9pm and the first Avengers at midnight), as more people are aware of Thursday night preview showings now than 2-3 years ago.
One thing is for sure. Age of Ultron is set for a beyond massive opening this weekend. It remains unsure how high it will go.
Friday numbers coming around 11:30 AM tomorrow.
UPDATE: I didn't mention this earlier, but, while this wouldn't be a direct comparison, but among Thursday night starts, Age of Ultron ranked sixth. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II still holds that record at $43.5 million, while three Twilight movies and The Dark Knight Rises all earned $29-30 million. But again, those started later and don't give much comparison at all.
