Avengers: Endgame Smashes Preview Records

The new Avengers movie has shattered Thursday night preview screening records in America, hauling in $60 million (£46.4 million).

The Disney/Marvel blockbuster grossed $43 million (£33.2 million) from early showtimes and midnight showings helped take the film's first-night box office cash grab past Star Wars: Force Awakens’ Thursday night earnings of $57 million (£44 million).

Avengers: Endgame quickly set a Marvel Thursday night/preview record, becoming the first of the studio's films to pass $40 million (£31 million). Avengers: Infinity War came close a year ago, when it picked up $39 million (£30 million) from Thursday night screenings.

The new movie was breaking box office records in America before its release late on Thursday night (25Apr19), becoming top ticket site Fandango's pre-sale champion. The Marvel blockbuster sold more advance tickets than Star Wars: The Force Awakens - the previous record holder, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the last Avengers movie, Infinity War.

By midday on Thursday, 8,000 showtimes of Avengers: Endgame had sold out on Fandango.

"It’s pacing to be our biggest box office weekend of all time," says Fandango Managing Editor Erik Davis. "We’ve never seen so many new screens and new showtimes added to meet the demand. I expect fans to go back for repeat viewings to catch all the things they missed."

The film is the 22nd movie in the Marvel Universe, which began with Iron Man in 2008.

Endgame is expected to become the biggest box office hit ever, beating out Avatar and Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Marvel bosses predict the movie will become the first to top $2 billion worldwide.