Both superhero fans and not love Marvel to the point of always waiting for the next movie to come to either spend some time watching some of the best actors and actresses interpreting great roles or see their dream superheroes of all time come to life.
Whatever your reason is, there is something we want to point out the most: Marvel’s success with all of its movies regardless of some being better than others.
In the case of Avengers: Age of Ultron, not many loved it for the simple fact of being a stepping stone for what turned out to be one of the most famous movies of all time four years later. Still, we cannot leave the movie without its credit, considering that it tops many others regarding earnings.
But how much did the movie gross compared to its predecessor and successors? There’s only one way to find out…
Team & Production: Making a Big Film
Since this is the 11th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), you can expect people to be a bit used to the entire process of making the movies in Marvel.
In this case, the production team behind the whole movie includes director and writer Joss Whedon and producer Kevin Feige.
The only company production behind it was Marvel Studios, while Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures continued with the distribution as with previous films of the MCU.
Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, said that the studio was starting to look at Phase Two of the MCU. This would include Iron Man 3 and culminate with a second Avengers movie after the one in 2012.
Feige also stated that they were not looking to expand the scope of the film. Instead, Feige was always interested in seeing where the team wants to take the characters and how to make it larger than The Avengers.
Whedon stated at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International that he wasn’t sure about the direction. But, Iger announced in August 2012 that Whedon would be returning to direct and write the sequel.
For December 2012, the director and writer Whedon claimed that he had already completed an outline of the film.
With 2013 already knocking, Whedon stated in April of that year that he had already written a draft, begun the storyboard process, and met with the actors.
Whedon revealed that the film would be called “Age of Ultron” at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International.
However, unlike what many believed at the moment based on the subtitle, the film is not based upon the comic book miniseries “Age of Ultron.” Feige said they liked the title Age of Ultron but that the plot was based on decades of Avengers storylines.
The film’s title came as a surprise to many fans who were expecting Thanos, the mastermind behind the events of the first film, to be the main villain in the sequel. Still, Marvel had other plans and never expected this villain to be the next one in the big movie of the team assembled.
For the casting, the process continued well into August 2013. James Spader was announced as the role of Ultron.
The time to film the movie came, and everyone was ready to take their respective roles on February 11, 2014.
Plot: Bringing Action at Its Best
In our opinion, Avengers: Age of Ultron is one of the best Marvel’s universe to this date.
Of course, it doesn’t compete with the first one, and let’s not talk about the last two, but the building of the movie, its climax, and how it was written continues to make us chill to this date.
Many will argue with us and say that this 11th film of the MCU entirely falls when it comes to popularity and production, but we find it crucial for the rest that came after it and to bring more hype into the main cast of this universe.
We aren’t saying it was perfect, which clearly is not, but it met most of the people’s expectations. At least, ours is included among them.
Now, what is this movie about when considering all the previous plots? Keep in mind that if you haven’t watched it, we suggest you watch the last ten films before this one (and you won’t regret investing your time in it).
Tony Stark and Bruce Banner launch an Artificial Intelligence named Ultron after a successful raid on a HYDRA base they carried out with the rest of the team (Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain America) in order to stop their plans of using alien weapons from the first Avengers’ movie.
This peacekeeping Stark and Banner thought about, and its protocol is designed to aid the Avengers in protecting the world from their enemies.
However, things get tangled up when Ultron, the AI they created, perceives the human race as a threat and sets about to destroy it along with the Avengers.
To stop Ultron from causing mass destruction, the Avengers must all reassemble.
Things also escalated quickly when they must take on the twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch and Vision, a new entity Stark and Banner also end up creating.
With so many additions and creations, The Avengers discover a new power that may change everything as they know it.
Following this plot summary, we have to point out that the movie’s cast, at least the main one, remains the same as the previous film but with some small additions. It is a bit hard to name all of them, but we wouldn’t forgive ourselves for excluding anyone:
- Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
- Mark Ruffalo as Hulk/Bruce Banner.
- Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America.
- Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow.
- Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye.
- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch.
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver.
- Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S/Vision.
- Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
- James Spader as Ultron.
Best Box Office During Its Release?
During its opening day in the United States and Canada, Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $84.46 million but went up to $191.3 million for its opening weekend.
Internationally, the movie earned $200.2 million in its opening weekend, which included 44 countries, being South Korea, United Kingdom, and Russia the top ones when it comes to earnings.
But how much did the movie gross in the end?
The movie grossed $459 million, including the USA and Canada, and $943.8 million internationally.
This took the movie to earn a total of $1.4 billion, making it the fifth-highest-grossing fill of all time.
Overall, Marvel Studios expected the movie to make more during its opening weekend. However, certain spectacles, including a fight with Floyd Mayweather, presumptively decreased the number of people who watched the movie until later, when the first week was running.
The movie’s net worth was set in $384 million approximately based on the taxes, budget, and all expenses included in the total earnings.
To this date, it may not be the highest-grossing film for Disney nor Marvel Studios, but it is set in the top 10 without a doubt.
How Much Did the Actors Make?
With a film which box office surpassed the billion mark, you would expect everyone to earn quite a lot, especially following the success of the first Avengers movie.
Well, you’re not wrong.
Robert Downey Jr. was already the star of the MCU after “Iron Man” was released.
Who doesn’t know that this man’s career skyrocketed when he started playing the role? And with it, Marvel’s future in films did as well.
As a result, Downey was already earning millions with the success of the movies to the point of reaching 2015 with Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Reportedly, he was paid $40 million for his participation, and he had a percentage of the earnings based on the film’s profit.
In the second place, we have Scarlet Johansson, who, despite what many would believe, made $20 million for this movie, much more compared to previous ones like “Iron Man 2” and the first “Avengers.”
Following them, the salaries drop quite a lot but don’t go below the million marks.
Chris Evans earned $6.9 million; Jeremy Renner $6.1 million, while Chris Hemsworth was paid $5.4 million.
Finally, Mark Ruffalo was the lowest paid with $2.8 million for his bank account.
The rest of the crew, like actors and actresses, including Elizabeth Olsen, were paid under $1 million for their participation, with some exceptions like Samuel L. Jackson.
6 Shocking Facts About Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Scarlet Johansson (Black Widow) was pregnant throughout the movie, yet she shot several of her action scenes.
- The truck attack scene took the crew and production almost an entire year to complete.
- Mark Ruffalo doesn’t voice the Hulk. Instead, Lou Ferrigno does, a voice actor who played the Hulk for television in several films.
- Tony Stark isn’t Ultron’s creator in the original story.
- The cast didn’t have an idea of what the film was about when they all signed up (except for Robert Downey Jr.).
- Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson had to read a huge amount of comics to prepare for their roles.
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