THE AVENGERS CRUSHES AT THE BOX OFFICE
By Brian Bell
The Avengers has crushed the competition, literally. The superhero extravaganza, directed and co-written by Joss Whedon, opened to an astonishing $207.4 million this past weekend, crushing box office records all around the globe (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2 held the world record at $169.2 million). The Avengers is also the first ever to gross $150 million in just two days, and the first to hit $200 million 3 days.
The film earned the second largest U.S. box office Friday opening of $80.8 million (number one is still Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), $69.5 million on Saturday (a new record) and $57 million on Sunday (also a new record).
The Avengers is Hulk... smashing records all over the world! It has set opening weekend records in Hong Kong, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Central America, New Zealand... the list goes on and on. The film was released overseas on April 25 (in many countries), and has already grossed $447.4 million (in only 12 days) in overseas sales alone!
Now in case you have been living under a rock, but somehow just found a computer logged onto Press Pass LA and haven’t heard yet... The Avengers is an amazing film! It’s everything that fanboys have always dreamed of in a comic book movie. And for any movie goer, somehow unfamiliar with the Marvel superhero team, (Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow), that won’t matter. This film is for fans and newcomers alike.
Joss Whedon’s script is hilarious, filled with one-liners, full of super exciting action sequences, and has just the right balance of character backstory and drama. It is a fast-paced film that is exciting from start to finish. I will not mention the plot, because you are best going into the theater knowing as little as possible.
I have been waiting two years for this movie and I had high expectations (I have been a big fan of almost all of Joss Whedon’s work from Buffy to Serenity) and not only were my high expectations met, but they were exceeded.
Marvel superhero movies have had some huge opening weekends at the box office, with hits like Iron Man ($99 million), Iron Man 2 ($128 million), Thor ($66 million) and Captain America ($65 million), but the superhero movie opening weekend box office record has (until now) been held by DC Comics' The Dark Knight. Now, with Marvel's The Avengers having a staggering record holding lead, one can only wonder if this is the summer of the superhero? And if Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (opening July 20) can rise to the occasion and take back DC Comics title, or if The Avengers will stay on top as the box office superhero that they now are...
