Box Office Report: Hilariously Huge Numbers this Weekend for ‘The Avengers’

Normally this is a report about the top 10 in the weekends Box Office, a celebration of the entire spectrum of the week’s best performing movies. That will not be the case this week as The Avengers just demolished even the most generous expectations and became the first film ever to rake in over $200 Million dollars in a debut weekend.

You read that correct, The Avengers made an estimated $200.3 Million this weekend at the Box Office. For reference the next closest film was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 which brought in over $169 Million in its opening frame. Kudos to me for the prediction last week.

There is a fitting symmetry for Marvel this week, as it was the original Spider-Man movie in 2001 that was the first to breach the $100 Million Dollar plateau. In the twelve years since that first triple digit weekend five of the films to achieve the mark were based on Marvel properties, the most of any single franchise.

One interesting thing developing at the top of the all time opening weekend chart is that The Avengers and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 are the top two films. Both of these movies represent the culmination of years long, multi-film franchises that are both high on continuity. One has to think that in today’s copy-cat industry that years long investment, multi-movie franchises are becoming en vogue.

It is still yet to be seen if the film has the legs to best any of the all time records for total Box Office haul, but the massive opening weekend suggests that the audience was very eager to see the movie. Some of the ancillary records and factoids do suggest the film might have legs, but it is hard to gain too much traction at the very beginning of the Summer movie season.

If the movie makes some obscene amount of money it could make some noise for Avatar‘s record, but in all likelihood it will make The Dark Knight levels of money, which is a major win for everyone at Marvel Studios.

Next weekend brings the next Tim Burton film Dark Shadows,  but with the major bucks earned this weekend it is very possible The Avengers makes it’s run last another week.