The box office results for the first official weekend of the summer movie season, May 4th-6th, is all about Marvel’s The Avengers assembling and destroying the record books. That is all.
1. The Avengers ($200.3 million)
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)
6. The Five-Year Engagement ($5 million)
7. The Raven ($2.5 million)
8. Safe ($2.4 million)
9. Chimpanzee ($2.3 million)
10. The Three Stooges ($1.8 million)
Analysis
Just about everyone in the biz knew The Avengers was going to give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 a run for its money (no pun) regarding the opening weekend record ($169.1 million). Well, the long-awaited Marvel geek dream team did so much more. And it’s a good thing it did; for the production budget alone was $220 million. But that probably isn’t a worry for all involved since the cinematic juggernaut has already assembled $441.5 million from international markets. Plus, everyone stateside (the lovely critics & audiences) are enamored with this comic-book adaptation.
Some may say 3D and IMAX ticket prices contributed to the flick achieving the new record, yet it probably would have still eclipsed the mark without the modern-day gimmicks. While establishing a bunch of other new box office records, the only one it didn’t rewrite was the opening single day mark set by Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Other than that, the superhero footprint is inked all over the rest of the pages.
Now the question is: How far can it go?
Since the film, written and directed by anointed geek messiah, Joss Whedon, encompasses characters from past summer blockbusters; all of which did huge business around the globe the last four years or so, look for this to enter rarefied air by the time June hits. Will it dethrone the almighty Avatar? Not likely. Could it breach the all-time domestic top 5 – which means it would have to cross $460 million – it has a legit shot. Especially since many people told yours truly that they are waiting to see the highly touted flick during the week to avoid the massive weekend crowds during this time of year.
(Estimated final number: $463 million domestically and over a billion worldwide).
And in other news, The Hunger Games – the current top-grosser for 2012 (for now) – currently has the longest streak in the top ten with 7 weeks. The first of three installments sits at $380 million on the domestic front.
This Friday, the only wide-release unleashed is Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows; which obviously stars, Johnny Depp. Good luck avoiding the huge shadow that is The Avengers fellas. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers.
