X-Men: Days of Future Past has become the most successful instalment in the franchise in only its second weekend on release.

The Bryan Singer-directed sequel, which unites two generations of X-Men stars, has earned $500.2 million since opening in May to beat the franchise's previous record holder X-Men: The Last Stand.

The franchise's third entry pulled in $459.4 million in 2006, while last year's The Wolverine grossed $414.8 million. 2003's X2, the last X-Men to be directed by Singer, finished its box office run with $407.7 million.

Days of Future Past has earned $162 million from the US and $338 million from foreign theatres as of June 2. The X-Men film series' worldwide box office rankings are as follows:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past - £500.2 million
2. X-Men: The Last Stand - £459.4 million
3. The Wolverine - £414.8 million
4. X2: X-Men United - £407.7 million
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - $373.1 million
6. X-Men: First Class - $353.6 million
7. X-Men - $296.3 million

The next movie in 20th Century Fox's Marvel franchise, titled X-Men: Apocalypse, will open on May 27, 2016 with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence all confirmed to return to the cast.