See that little wizard over there, Hulk? SMASH!
Josh Whedon's Disney (NYSE:
DIS
)-produced superhero movie
The Avengers
has smashed the opening weekend box office record previously held
by
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
of $169.2 million, and brought in an incredible $200.3
million.
The movie, which brings together some of Marvel Comic's
biggest names including Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man
and Hawkeye, raked in $80.5 million on Friday, $69.7 million on
Saturday and $50.1 million on Sunday. The Saturday figure is a
new record for that day also. In addition,
40% of the people that saw the movie this weekend
were women
.
The slow-build surrounding the movie has been perfectly
executed, starting back in 2008 when both the
Incredible Hulk
and
Iron Man
movies featured teaser scenes after the credits, both staring
Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury as he looked to
assemble an Avengers team. 2010's
Iron Man 2
and last year's
Captain America: The First Avenger
and
Thor
continued along those same lines.
So, by the time the movie was eventually released this last
weekend, the anticipation had reached fever-pitch. The chatter
threatened to fill up the internet, and people are already
discussing the next movie (which new characters will be
introduced seem to be a dominant theme).
It doesn't hurt that the vast majority of the reviews have
been positive. Very few people have had anything bad to say about
it, beyond the typical cries of "do we need another superhero
movie?" The answer, according to the American public, is a
resounding yes.
How the forthcoming
Amazing Spiderman
,
Dark Knight Rises
and
Man of Steel
will fare with the bar raised so high remains to be seen, but it
is almost unfair, it's hardly an even playing field, because
The Avengers
is pretty much five superhero movies in one.
"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."
To put it in perspective, the
Hunger Games
brought in $5.7 million in this weekend. Surprisingly,
Think Like a Man
sits above that with $8 million.
The Three Stooges
brought in $1.8 million.
The Avengers
' $200.3 million dwarfs all of those, albeit on the opening
weekend.
Viacom (NYSE:
VIA
) and Paramount will be delighted as they have a share, though
the numbers are being considered a great thing for the industry
as a whole. The Avengers has just redefined what it means to have
a blockbuster movie.
If you haven't seen it yet, Assemble.
Follow me
@BCallwood
.
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