"Avengers" smashes record with $200.3M box office
http://is.gd/3fVpgX
(AP) LOS ANGELES - Hulk, smash.
That's what Captain America tells the Incredible Hulk to do in "The
Avengers," and that's what the Marvel Comics superhero mash-up did at
the box office, smashing the domestic revenue record with a $200.3
million debut.
It's by far the biggest opening ever, shooting past the previous
record of $169.2 million for the debut of last year's "Harry Potter"
finale.
"The Avengers" added $151.5 million overseas over the weekend to bring
its total to $441.5 million since it began opening internationally a
week earlier.
That raised the film's worldwide haul to $641.8 million in barely a
week and a half, more than its Marvel superhero forerunners "Iron
Man," ''Iron Man 2," ''Thor" and "Captain America" took in during
their entire runs.
If distributor Disney's domestic estimate Sunday holds when the final
weekend count is released Monday, "The Avengers" would be the first
movie ever to haul in $200 million in a single weekend.
While the number could dip below $200 million come Monday, Disney
spent the weekend revising its forecasts upward as business kept
growing.
"There aren't even words, to be honest. I'm running low on double
takes. Every time we looked at a number, it just got bigger than what
we could have hoped for in the best-case assumption," said Dave
Hollis, Disney's head of distribution. "With this film, this weekend,
anything is possible."
"The Avengers" started with solid midnight crowds Friday, though
nowhere near a record. Then it did $80.5 million for the full day
Friday, second only to the "Harry Potter" finale's $91.1 million first
day.
Revenues held up much better than expected with $69.7 million
Saturday, and Disney estimated that the film would bring in $50.1
million more on Sunday.
The record weekend was the culmination of years of careful planning by
Marvel Studios, which has included teasers for an "Avengers" dream
team collaboration in its solo superhero adventures.
Directed by Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), "The Avengers"
features Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain
America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Scarlett
Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Samuel L.
Jackson as Nick Fury.
A $200 million total for every movie in release is considered a great
weekend for the business as a whole, so "The Avengers" redefines the
standards for a blockbuster debut.
"If 'The Avengers' is any indication, we're going to see a leap rather
than a gentle little nudge into new territory, and the lineup is there
to justify it going forward," said Greg Foster, chairman and president
of the huge-screen IMAX cinema chain.
Crowds were so anxious to see the film on IMAX's giant screens that
Foster said the company had only one problem: it ran out of seats to
sell.
Overall domestic revenues came in at $248 million, climbing 49 percent
compared to the same weekend last year, when "Thor" opened with $65.7
million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "The Avengers"
accounted for four-fifths of the weekend's domestic receipts.
Hollywood launched a potentially record-shattering summer with a
vengeance, "The Avengers" landing as just the first of three huge
superhero tales that highlight a lineup filled with other blockbusters
in the making.
"The Amazing Spider-Man" follows on July 3 and "The Dark Knight Rises"
wraps up the current Batman series on July 20.
Until the "Harry Potter" finale, 2008's "The Dark Knight" had held the
revenue record with a $158.4 million debut. Before that, the record-
holder was 2007's "Spider-Man 3" with $151.1 million.
So anticipation for those two films could rival that of "The
Avengers."
As admission prices rise, Hollywood's record-breakers often take in
more money but sell fewer tickets than previous blockbusters. But "The
Avengers" took in so much money that it's the undisputed champ among
debuts.
Based on average admission prices the years they were released, "The
Dark Knight" and "Spider-Man 3" had led with about 22 million tickets
sold each over opening weekend. Today's average prices put "The
Avengers" tally at around 25.6 million tickets sold.
Along with the superhero films, Hollywood's summer lineup includes the
action tales "Men in Black 3," ''G.I. Joe: Retaliation,"
''Battleship," ''Total Recall" and "Prometheus," director Ridley
Scott's return to the sci-fi territory of his horror hit "Alien."
Big family fare includes the animated adventures "Brave," from "Toy
Story" creator Pixar Animation, and the sequels "Ice Age: Continental
Drift" and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted."
The comedy lineup features Adam Sandler's "That's My Boy," Will
Ferrell's "The Campaign" and Sacha Baron Cohen's "The Dictator."
"'The Avengers' kicks off what looks to me to be the summer box-office
equivalent of the 100-year flood," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul
Dergarabedian. "This is perhaps the most perfect summer lineup in box-
office history."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian
theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest
international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will
be released Monday.
1. "The Avengers," $200.3 million ($151.5 million international).
2. "Think Like a Man," $8 million.
3. "The Hunger Games," $5.7 million.
4. "The Lucky One," $5.5 million.
5. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," $5.4 million ($2.6 million
international).
6. "The Five-Year Engagement," $5.1 million ($2.3 million
international).
7. "The Raven," $2.5 million.
8. "Safe," $2.47 million.
9. "Chimpanzee," $2.4 million.
10. "The Three Stooges," $1.8 million.