It turns out that #2 isn't that bad a spot for Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

In its second weekend at the U.S. box office, the superhero team sequel earned $77.2 million -- an amount that ranks it second all time for sophomore weekends behind the original "Avengers'" $103.1 million. As Deadline notes, "Ultron" seems to be performing rock solid just behind its predecessor in all ways. The new film broke the $300 million overall barrier in ten days -- tying it with Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" but placing it one day behind "Marvel's Avengers" which did it in nine.

Perhaps part of "Ultron's" second big week at the box office was a lack of true competition. While the Reese Witherspoon comedy "Hot Pursuit" opened wide this weekend, it had no chance of catching Earth's Mightiest Heroes, although the film did end up beating early predictions of a disappointment by turning in $13.3 million by Sunday.

The next major threshold for the Avengers to break is the $1 billion mark internationally. It's already well on its way, as Deadline also notes, with $562.4 million total international sales after a $68.3 million weekend. The film next opens in China, which has been a terrific market for superhero flicks.

However in the U.S., the Avengers will face some competition next week as "Pitch Perfect 2" opens across the country. The acapella-themed sequel opened this weekend in Australia and earned $8.8 million there (the original earned $13.3 million for its entire run in the country) and is on track to have a huge debut domestically.