Marvel Studios have begun their international roll-out of Avengers: Assemble a week before it opens in the US (which will undoubtedly be its most lucrative market). If the rest of the world is being used as a test for how well the movie will perform Stateside then things are certainly looking up for the ambitious comic book adaptation.

In Australia, the movie notched up the country's second biggest ever opening, grossing $6 million. The current record holder there is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. In New Zealand, it was a record-book moment, Hollywood Reporter have confirmed, as the movie grossed $800,000. With $2.9 million in France and $3.7 million in Italy, Joss Whedon's action adventure has raked in $17.1 million worldwide, in total. It's a figure that will, no doubt, be turning heads in the movie industry and has led people to start predicting the impact that will have on its domestic debut on May 4, 2012.

As anticipation mounts for the US release of the movie, industry insiders are starting to place their bets on how much the film is going to accrue. Hollywood Reporter suggests that it "could debut north of $150 million, based on the strength of pre-release tracking." The movie, which stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo, is the most ambitious of the Marvel Studio comic book adaptations so far, as it brings together all of their major characters under one roof.