The Avengers once again rules the international box office and North American

In its third-weekend roll-out, The Avengers once again pulled in great numbers that kept it in the #1 seat for the third week straight. With two newcomers--Battleship and The Dictator--, the superhero juggernaut earned an estimated $55.1 million over its third weekend, marking the second-highest third weekend gross right behind Avatar which earned $68.5 million back in December 2009. From last weekend record breaking $103.1 million, the pic dropped a decent 46.6% which stands well compared to other superhero titles--Iron Man 2(49.3%), and Thor (55.5%). However, both The Dark Knight's and Spider-man's third-weekend drops were less with 43.2% and 36.9% respectively. However, with its $55.1 million The Avengers domestic cume now stands at a staggering $457.1 million which is the 6th highest gross of all time domestically;right behind Star Wars. What is more interesting is the celerity with which the film reached the $450 million threshold; a record 17 days which surpasses The Dark Knight's 27 day record by a significant 10 day difference. A North American gross above $540 million is guaranteed for Marvel's highest-grossing film of all-time--The Avengers.

Internationally, The Avengers also amassed a powerful $56.0 million from 54 territories(95% of int. market) which is a decent drop of 32.5% from last weekend's $93.8 million. The Avengers international haul is now at $723.3 million which is the #7 highest-grossing film of all time internationally. In Latin America, the superhero tent-pole has already earned $171 million, overcoming the total revenue of Avatar and Titanic to become the highest grossing film of all-time in that territory. With this much energy in overseas markets, The Avengers will have no problem passing the $800 million threshold and possibly the $900 million when it is released in Japan. Summing up both domestic and international numbers, The Avengers now has $1.180 billion globally--the 4th highest-grossing film of all time globally.

List of Records Set by The Avengers:
1. Biggest Opening Weekend ($207.8 million)
2. Biggest Opening Saturday and Sunday
3. Fastest Movie to reach $100, $200, $300, $400, $450 million
4. Highest 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th day gross.
5. Biggest second weekend of all time ($103.1 million)
6. Highest Grossing Disney film of all-time both globally and domestically
7. ...

Believe it or not, there were other films at the box office. However, The Avengers superhero power smashed any newcomers. Battleship debuted to a flaccid $25.3 million which is really off the anticipated $35-40 million range. At this stage, Battleship doesn't seem to have the power to pass the $70 million in the long run. Universal's so called new "Transformers franchise" didn't sum up to anything and opened less than John Carter, another box office flop that cost Disney many losses. However, international figures are better with $215.3 million which compensates for the production budget of $209 million.(excluding marketing costs and any other miscellaneous costs.)

The Dictator, an R rated film, also opened to an underwhelming $17.4 million that is no where close to other films of the same genre.

Updated: The Avengers Third Weekend Predictions

The Avengers' record streak is about to end as its third weekend gross falls below that of Avatar. Although  it is going to lose that record, it still has many other records to look for namely fastest film to $450 million and $500 million. In 2009, Avatar was huge hit and indeed an exceptional film, for that reason it isn't fair to compare The Avengers to Avatar. Moreover, the release date of Avatar and The Avengers was different; Avatar was released in December 2009 while Avengers was released in May 2012. Earning an approximate $15.308 million on Friday, The Avengers domestic cume is now $417 million, marking the highest-grossing film for Disney.

With $417 million in only 15 days, the box office juggernaut will remain in the #1 seat with a staggering $56.8 million, ranking as the second-highest third weekend gross.

Internationally, The Avengers raked an estimated $13.9 million on Friday placing its non-north american haul at $682.6 million and globally at $1.099 billion--6th highest grossing film of all-time. By Sunday, the superhero ensemble should become the 4th highest-grossing film of all-time globally.

Battleship, is expected to open to an underwhelming $27.6 million, due to a below par midnight gross and an estimated $9.5 million on Friday. With an opening of $27.6 million, Battleship will be lucky to earn more than $100 million as its final domestic revenue. Although domestic numbers aren't too good, Battleship has a solid international cume of $220 million covering a outlandish production budget of $209 million(not inclusive of marketing costs). Universal will suffer a slight blow, but not as bad as that which Disney experienced with John Carter. Luckily, The Avengers was there to save the day.

Friday Report: The Avengers grosses $29.124 million on Friday, Dark Shadows underperforms

With $29.124 million in the bank on Friday, The Avengers is on track to dethrone Avatar's record of biggest-second weekend gross of $75.6 million. Obliterating the $200 million barrier in only 3 days , The Avengers is going to break another barrier and garner a smashing $102.8 million over its second weekend, making it the first and only movie to earn that much. By Sunday, the superhero ensemble movie would have broken another 2 records, namely fastest film to $300 million and fastest film to $350 million accomplishing each in a mere 8(9*) days and 10 days respectively.

The Avengers' $29.124 million Friday compares well to other superhero movies and big-box office hits. In 2008, The Dark Knight grossed $23.3 million on its second Friday, but those numbers weren't boosted by 3D premiums. The movie's second Friday is even 26% more than that of Avatar(3D) which ultimately grossed $750 million in North America. The superhero tentpole's 8-day cume is 14% ahead of The Dark Knight's $261.8 million, and 70% ahead of Iron Man 2's $159.2 million

Look for the The Avengers to stay at #1 spot again with $102.8 million which that by itself stands as the 18th highest-opening weekend.

Internationally, the Avengers has pulled in decent numbers on Friday with $21 million, placing its international haul at $555.2 million. As of now, the worldwide revenue is $854.3 million. The Avengers has already become the highest-grossing superhero title of all time internationally.

Final Domestic Forecast: $579.3 million
Final Worldwide Forecast: $1.34 billion

*As Friday's gross is an estimate, there is room for error so a higher/lower Friday gross is possible. Actual grosses will be revealed on Monday.

The Avengers Second Weekend Projections (Updated)

With the Dark Shadows opening this week at an approximate 3,700 places, The Avengers should be drastically affected considering the fact that such films suffer a steep drop the following week. However, the superhero tentpole still has enough firepower in it to stay in the #1 seat with a predicted $90+ million. The Avengers should break the record of biggest-second weekend gross and surpass Avatar's $75.6 million over its second weekend.

Breaking records each day, The Avengers also boasts a powerful A+ Cinema Score and 96% on Flixer ratings. Not only is the word of mouth good among fans, but also among critics who are lauding Mark Ruffalo's depictive acting techniques. Standing as the 32nd highest-grossing film of all time in only 17 days with $803.3 million, the ensemble movie will most certainly pass the $1 billion dollar threshold. Currently, The Avengers accounts for 84% of daily sales portending a really good hold-up for this week.

Expect the Avengers to shatter everything again with a second-weekend gross of $105.8 million, a drop of 49.1%.

The Dark Shadows will suffer The Avengers' "smashing" power, and open to a decent $32 million.

The Avengers smashes opening records

The Avengers amassed  a staggering $200.3 million over its opening weekend, obliterating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2's previous record of $169.2 million by a large margin...

The Avengers: Opening Weekend Predictions

The John Whedon extravaganza is expected to debut to $170 million+. Opening to staggering $80.5 million on Friday, The Avengers broke opening day records for a superhero film and now stands as the second-biggest opening day of all time. With $80.5 million already, The Avengers is poised to surpass the $169.2 million opening weekend record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--Part 2 last July.

The superhero tentpole is almost surely expected to gross more than The Dark Knight on its opening weekend($158.1 million). However, it doesn't seem fair because The Avengers has 3D premiums to "show off" which places it at an advantage. With a record-breaking opening day of $80.5 million, The Avengers is on track to out-gross Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 over the weekend with a predicted $180.4 million. Although the opening day is considerably less than Harry Potter, a few factors must be taken into consideration: HP8 opened in July and teenagers had no school. For the Avengers, however, its opening in May is a powerful month for superhero films. Moreover, 3D showings accounted for 60% of the Friday's opening, suggesting relatively good interest in 3D in this genre of movies.

Expect a $180.4 million opening debut that will surely dethrone the Harry Potter finale.

The Avengers: Worldwide Forecast (Updated) $400+ million??

After an incredible April with The Hunger Games passing the $360 line mark, May is also going to be a stellar month with The Avengers on the top list. After eight films from the Avengers, five of them are now going to merge to make The Avengers. The ensemble movie is a very good candidate for the billion-dollar club since it encompasses four different series in the Marvel Comic. Iron Man 2 is the highest-grossing Avengers film that amassed about $624 million globally. The merging of four different films should attract fans of all four series, leading to more ticket sales. On Facebook, Iron Man has 8 million likes whereas Thor, Captain America have around 2.6 million fans each. The least of all is the Incredible Hulk with 1.2 million likes. Such a merging should call in many fans and thereby increasing ticket sales. Early reviews are also almost universally positive among critics with a 96% approval rating. Not only are critics pleased by the movie, but also many early watchers are calling it the "best-super hero movie yet." Such positive reviews portend good hold ups after its upcoming debut.

 Disney did a good job focusing on Iron Man and Thor in the trailers, as they are the most popular characters in the Avenger series. Even from now, the Disney superhero extravaganza is generating bigger prerelease interest than The Dark Knight or The Hunger Games both of which opened to more than $150 million. With this trend, The Avengers could score one of the biggest domestic openings of all time for a superhero film. After amassing $80.5 million on its opening day (Friday)—the second biggest opening of all-time—, it currently is on track to open north of $170 million over its opening weekend setting the highest-opening weekend of all-time. Beware; Harry Potter’s biggest-opening weekend is at stake. Expect a North American revenue of $398 million.

 Since the superhero ensemble film is going to be released in 3D, the international revenue should see a note-worthy increase. Iron Man 2 grossed $331 million internationally without 3D. Considering the fact that the international market has grown over the years, an international gross of $450+ million would not be a surprise. Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, also, contains a destructive scene similar to that of The Avengers. Transformers went on to gross $771 million internationally. With this week’s news to wait for, an international forecast of $549 million seems on par with what films in this situation would unfold. Expect the superhero extravaganza to gross north of $900 million worldwide.

 Worldwide Forecast (Box office gross): $947 million

The Avengers: Can it gross more than $1 billion?

Smashing records in many markets and opening #1 in virtually every market, The Avengers has already grossed $218.2 million internationally(including its $185.1 million international debut) and is a good contender to pass the $1 billion mark.   More coverage coming soon

The Avengers May 4, 2012

Coming Soon

Titanic 3D: Opening weekend

With three strong movies this weekend, Titanic is expected to be the victor. Considering the fact that Titanic is set to be released a few days before American Reunion, it gives the James Cameron's spectacle a good chance to score more money. On its opening day, the 3D release is expected to kick off The Hunger Games from the #1 seat with approximately $6 million. As of now, Fandago is reporting that Titanic is responsible for 50% of daily sales including 3D theaters. Expect Titanic 3D to garner $49 million from  its Wednesday to Sunday debut frame.

Opening in virtually all markets across the world, Titanic has the chance to bewitch fans again. Titanic in 1998 grossed more than $1.2 billion internationally and now with the chance to cruise in theaters Titanic is poised to gross more than $90 million internationally. With good presales in China, interest in other Asia  countries should also follow. Japan will also remain the most interesting market as it is the second highest-grossing market in global terms with $201 million in the bank. Expect a final international gross of $110 million.