Brie Larson surprises fans with shock appearance at 'Captain Marvel' screening

Brie Larson gave Marvel fans a pleasant surprise on Saturday night when she was spotted attending a New Jersey showing of her new movie Captain Marvel.

The star paid a visit to an AMC cinema in Clifton, NJ, to mark the film’s opening weekend.

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The 29-year-old actress wore a slightly more casual take on her superhero alter ego’s iconic blue, yellow and red suit.

She even got behind the concessions counter to serve popcorn and drinks to lucky cinemagoers, as well as taking her fair share of selfies.

Surprising audiences before the screening, Larson walked out holding one of the cinema’s soft drink cups and thanked fans for their support.

“I just heard that I was on the cups and popcorn and I wanted to see for myself,” she said.

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Larson plays US pilot turned Kree warrior Carol Danvers in the Marvel film, directed by Mississippi Grind filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

The supporting cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Ben Mendelsohn and Lashana Lynch.

Captain Marvel experienced a box office bonanza at the weekend, netting $153m (£117m) in North America and a massive $455m (£348m) worldwide.

The global figure puts Captain Marvel in sixth place in terms of all-time worldwide box office weekends, with Avengers: Infinity War the only Marvel film to experience a more lucrative debut.

Read more: Captain Marvel flies to huge opening weekend

The figure dwarfs other recent blockbusters including Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Despite vocal distaste from some social media users, who drove the film to a low Rotten Tomatoes audience score, movie theatre pollsters CinemaScore recorded an average ‘A’ grade from those they surveyed after screenings.

The character is expected to play a key role in Marvel’s next film Avengers: Endgame, which is released in the UK on 25 April.