LOS ANGELES, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Newcomers were no match for Disney and Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame." The superhero film won the North American box office for a third-straight weekend with 63.05 million U.S. dollars.
"Avengers: Endgame" has earned a massive 723.5 million dollars through Sunday in North America. Internationally the film took in 102.3 million dollars this weekend for a staggering global total through Sunday of 2.48 billion U.S. dollars, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.
China is the film's top grossing international market. The film has collected more than 4.1 billion yuan to date (around 600 million dollars) in the Chinese mainland, according to the major Chinese online ticketing service Maoyan.
It's now the second biggest global release of all-time, just behind James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi film "Avatar," which brought in 2.8 billion dollars worldwide.
Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, "Avengers: Endgame" is a film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. It's the 22nd installment of the Marvel Universe franchise and purported to be the last with this star lineup. The film follows the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies who work to reverse the damage caused by Thanos in Infinity War.
Warner Bros.' animated film "Pokemon Detective Pikachu," opened in second place with an estimated 58 million dollars this weekend, becoming the biggest opening weekend for a video game adaptation ever.
The film is produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Chinese-owned Legendary Pictures and The Pokemon Company, in association with Japan's Toho Co., Ltd. in a joint venture production. Based on the Pokemon franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and the 2016 video game Detective Pikachu, the film is the first live-action adaptation in the franchise. Directed by Rob Letterman, the film features the voice of Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu.
The film topped the box office of the Chinese mainland market this weekend with 113.69 million yuan (16.7 million U.S. dollars), dethroning "Avengers: Endgame."
Distributed by United Artists Releasing in the United States, comedy film "The Hustle," opened in third place with an estimated 13.53 million dollars. Directed by Chris Addison, the film is a female-centered remake of the 1988 film "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." The film stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson as a pair of scam artists, one low rent and the other high class, compete to swindle a naive tech prodigy out of his fortune.
Sony's release of psychological thriller film "The Intruder" landed in fourth with an estimated 6.6 million dollars in its second weekend for a North American total of 20.97 million dollars. Directed by Deon Taylor, the film stars Michael Ealy and Meagan Good as a young couple who buy a beautiful Napa Valley house in the country, only to realize its previous owner refuses to let it go.
Lionsgate's comedy film "Long Shot" finished fifth with an estimated 6.12 million dollars in its second weekend. Directed by Jonathan Levine, the film follows a journalist who begins to spend time with his former babysitter, who prepares to make a run for the Presidency.
