Box office report for May 14, 2012: "The Avengers" tops $100 million in second weekend
“The Avengers” continues to smash box office records as quickly and thoroughly as the Hulk smashes Manhattan skyscrapers.
In its second weekend, Marvel Studios’ super-blockbuster took in $103.2 million to repeat at the top of the domestic charts. Writer-director Joss Whedon’s superhero adventure also raised its domestic total to $373.2 million, according to the Associated Press.
“The Avengers” became the first movie ever to pull in more than $100 million domestically in its second weekend, far surpassing the previous best of $75.6 million that James Cameron’s record-setting “Avatar” scored in its second weekend back in December 2009.
“The Avengers” also topped $300 million domestically Saturday after just nine days in release, beating the previous record set by “The Dark Knight,” which hit that mark in 10 days, according to the AP. Revenue for “The Avengers” was off just 50 percent from the film’s domestic debut of $207.4 million the previous weekend, which is remarkable considering the massive scope of its opening and the commonality of 65 percent or more drops for many blockbusters.
Hauling in another $95.4 million more overseas in its second weekend, “The Avengers” lifted its international receipts to $628.9 million for a worldwide haul of just past $1 billion, only 19 days after it began opening in some markets.
Already the year’s biggest hit worldwide, “The Avengers” is on the verge of passing “The Hunger Games” at $386.9 million to become the top-grossing film domestically for the year, reports the AP.
Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Tom Hiddleston as Loki, “The Avengers” seems to have created a perfect storm of the beloved characters, popular actors and the ideal director. Plus, Marvel has been building up to “The Avengers” since Downey Jr. first donned the crimson suit and feisty attitude of Tony Stark for 2008′s “Iron Man,” and that investment obviously is yielding stupendous dividends now.
The vampire tale “Dark Shadows,” the latest Johnny Depp and Tim Burton collaboration didn’t have much luck competing with the might of “The Avengers”: “Dark Shadows” had an average opening with $28.8 million, putting at a distant No. 2 on the domestic charts, according to the AP.
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