Colombo’s landmark Savoy cinema welcomed Marvel’s Avengers Age of Ultron in true Hollywood style as 2015’s newest blockbuster movie premiered at this historic venue recently. However, the real heroes at the event were undoubtedly the 320 E FM listeners who battled it out before hand to win coveted VIP passes to this fully packed, high profile premiere event.

And, be assured, it was no easy task that Sri Lanka’s only Lifestyle station had set for its fans to win Avengers Age of Ultron premiere VIP invitations, having them compete in an exciting round of “Kill The Clue!” where listeners had to guess the Avengers universe character based on clues outlined by Radio Personalities (RPs). 

But, in the end, worthy listeners were well rewarded with 320 VIP passes to attend this sensational premiere, which also included the chance to have their pictures taken with life size Avengers characters as well as a number of other unique activities.

E FM Programmes Director Mark Kross said: “Listening to the overwhelming positive feedback from our fans, we will continue to give them chances to win VIP passes to blockbusters such as Avengers Age of Ultron. We would also like to thank them for participating in this truly fantastic premiere, because without them it wouldn’t be as much fun. We are also very grateful to HSBC and Singapore Airlines for helping us bring this, one of Summer 2015’s most highly anticipated movies, to Sri Lanka.”

‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ hits $626.7 m globally

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com): ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ dominated the global box office this weekend, picking up $168 million in foreign ticket sales.

The comicbook adventure’s worldwide bounty now tops off at $626.7 million after 12 days in theaters – ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ opened in certain key international territories last week in advance of its domestic debut on 1 May.

Among the assorted records it torched, the film has posted the biggest opening weekend of all time in Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Ecuador. Last weekend, the picture also scored the highest global haul for an Imax release, with $25 million in receipts.

‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ has now opened in 71% of the global marketplace, but several key territories remain. The sequel will open in China, the world’s second largest marketplace, on 12 May, and Japan, the third largest, on 4 July.

A stronger dollar and wilting exchange rates in parts of Europe and Russia are causing some conversion headaches for “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and blockbusters of its ilk. Disney, which is releasing the film, says it is pacing 31% ahead of the first “Avengers” in local currency, and is ahead of its predecessor in terms of dollars, though it did provide a percentage.

The success of the ‘Avengers’ reunion along with ‘Cinderella’ pushed Disney past the $1 billion mark internationally.

‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ wasn’t the only film putting up big numbers. ‘Furious 7’ continued its torrid run, adding $52.8 million to its $1.4 billion in winnings. The action adventure is now the fourth highest-grossing global release, traipsing past ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,’ behind only ‘The Avengers’ ($1.5 billion), ‘Titanic’ ($2.2 billion) and ‘Avatar’ ($2.8 billion).

‘Silent Separation,’ an adaptation of a popular Chinese novel, scored third place on foreign charts with $ 28 million. The top five was rounded out by the DreamWorks Animation hit ‘Home’ with $17 million, and the Hong Kong crime thriller ‘Helios,’ with $16.9 million.