X-Men: Days of Future Past has the most successful first-weekend X-Men movie and the biggest opener of the year so far with its hugely successful debut. What’s more, it looks like Fox’s biggest ever debut, and guess which studio was behind James Cameron’s Avatar?

X-Men:Days of Future PastHugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men: Days of Future Past 

With an estimated global total of $281.1m, Days of Future Past has already earned back its reported $200m budget. The biggest chunk of that came solely from home base, America, with $90.7m over the Memorial Day weekend – oh, and sorry ‘Game of Thrones’ fans; that means a week’s wait for the next episode. 

More: read our review of X-Men: Days of Future Past

It was a truly International affair, taking in $37.7m in China - the studio's second-best opening of all time after Titanic 3D. Elsewhere, it grabbed $14.2m in the U.K., and $13.5m in France - the biggest launch of the year for a Hollywood export. 

The film sees Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen star in the critically acclaimed comicbook epic in which Wolverine (Jackman) has to galvanise support from X-Men over two generations to help him fight a potential mutant killing force lead by Dinklage’s character, Dr. Bolivar Trask.

More: X-Men - back together again in 'Days of Future Past'

It trampled over Godzilla; Gareth Edward’s reboot of the legendary franchise did well on its debut, briefly tagging the biggest opener of the year mantle, but X-Men was always going to usurp it. The mega-lizard flick came in a distant second this week with $31m bringing its total global gross to $315m.

Elsewhere, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore didn’t fare so well – it totalled $14.5m with tonight’s takings yet to count. Whatever happens, though, it won’t break the $20m barrier, making it the worst Adam Sandler opening for a while.