Avengers: Age of Ultron still ruling US box office

Captain America and Thor, played by Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth, appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron has topped the US and Canada box office for a second weekend, taking $77m (£50m) - more than five times the earnings of its closest rival, action comedy Hot Pursuit.

The poorly-reviewed buddy movie, which stars Reese Witherspoon and Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, made $13.3m (£8.6m) to take second place.

The Avengers sequel has now taken $313m (£203m) in just 10 days in the US.

It is the joint second fastest film to pass $300m, tying with The Dark Knight.

The first film in the Avengers series, which features Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow, reached that mark in just nine days in 2012.

'Tough critics'

Warner Bros admitted Hot Pursuit's opening weekend total was "a little lighter" than it had hoped, with the studio having estimated takings of $18m (£11.7m) or higher.

"Critics were very tough on Hot Pursuit," said Paul Dergarabedian from box office analysts Rentrak.

"It was a formula [that] for whatever reason didn't resonate with the critics, and I think that had an impact on its box office."

Hot Pursuit stars Reese Witherspoon as a police officer assigned to protect a mobster's wife, played by Sofia Vergara

Mr Dergarabedian added: "Ultron is just so big, it's such a behemoth, it's hard for a newcomer to get attention."

That should all change next week though, when Mad Max: Fury Road and Pitch Perfect 2 open.

Blake Lively's fantasy drama The Age of Adaline was this weekend's third placed film with takings of $5.6m (£3.6m), while Furious 7 took $5.2m (£3.4m) in fourth place.

The action blockbuster, starring Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker, has earned $1.5bn (£970m) globally to date.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 completed the top five with takings of just under $5.2m (£3.4m).