Avengers fly to UK cinema top spot

Avengers Assemble has smashed its way into the record books, as it takes the number one slot at the UK box office and in 39 countries around the world on its opening weekend.

Joss Whedon's Marvel blockbuster featuring comic book heroes, and starring Robert Downey Jr, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson, proves that superheroes rule when it comes to the big screen.

The film - which also stars Samuel L Jackson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow - took £15.8 million at the UK box office, making it the biggest opening for a superhero movie in the country of all time and the second biggest four-day weekend ever, behind Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, which made £16.5 million.

Avengers Assemble has already taken more than the entire UK box office runs of The Hulk (£8.29 million), Captain America (£9.5 million) and Thor (£14.05 million).

Its international box office takings totalled a massive $178.4 million US dollars as it debuted in top spot in 39 countries including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and New Zealand.

"You hope that the magnitude of this kind of opening sends a signal that this is a for-everyone film," said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney.

"You can't put up these kinds of numbers if it's just for guys or just for the fans. These numbers say that it is for everyone, eight to 80."