(Yicai Global) April 26 -- Box office takings for Avengers: Endgame surpassed CNY1 billion (USD148 billion) in China yesterday evening, taking just 44 hours and 11 minutes to hit the milestone and marking a new record time for the feat.

The film's predecessor Avengers: Infinity War and Fast & Furious 8 previously held the record at 48 hours, according to figures from Beacon, a box office data collator run by Alibaba Group Holding. Monster Hunt 2 at 48 hours and 31 minutes and Detective Chinatown 2 and Dying to Survive -- both at 72 hours -- round out the top six.

Avengers: Endgame set a series of historic achievements on its Chinese mainland release day, including becoming the most-played midnight movie when it debuted at 12.00 on the morning of April 24 on some 39,500 screens nationwide.

It also set a record for the number of simultaneous midnight viewers: 3.27 million; landed the highest ever takings for concurrent midnight showings: CNY189 million (USD28 million); and made more than any imported movie on its first day or any single day: CNY532 million.

The film might yet beat that single day record, analyst Luo Tianwen told The Beijing News. It was released on a Wednesday, but many moviegoers will opt to watch it this coming weekend, he said.

Editor: James Boynton