The Marvel action epic, which boasts an all-star cast of Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Scarlett Johansson, smashed records after hauling in a massive $200.3 million (£125.2 million) in its first three days of release, besting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which grossed $169 million (£105.6 million) when it hit theatres in July (11).

And the superhero blockbuster continued to impress for the second week in a row with earnings of $103.2 million (£64.5 million), fending off competition from Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's vampire horror comedy Dark Shadows, which had takings of $28.8 million (£18 million).

In third was Tyler Perry's Think Like a Man, which brought in $6.3 million (£3.9 million), and in fourth and fifth place respectively were Jennifer Lawrence's The Hunger Games ($4.4 million/£2.8 million) and Zac Efron's The Lucky One ($4.1 million/£2.6 million).