Arts Feature: Super stars

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's yet another billion-dollar blockbuster, and it's heading this way, writes John Maguire.

Avengers Assemble: the all-time biggest earner among superhero films at the international box office.
Avengers Assemble: the all-time biggest earner among superhero films at the international box office.

It has been a summer of superheroes at the cinema, with spandex crusaders battling villainous evildoers in a head-spinning display of cutting-edge special effects.

The box-office returns these films generate are similarly dizzying. Avengers Assemble, released here in April, is the third-biggest film of all time at the international box office, racing to $1 billion in receipts faster than any other ...