You will never guess what movie took the #1 spot at the box office over the weekend and no, it wasn’t Celine & Julie Go Boating (that’s a real movie, look it up). It was The Avengers!
The Avengers opening at #1 wasn’t a surprise–everyone knew it was going to happen–but what is astonishing is the box office record that the super-hero flick set by earning more that $200 million. That astronomical domestic take easily secured the title of highest grossing opening weekend ever. That honor was held by Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which made close to $170 million in it’s opening weekend last summer.
The Avengers also set records for Marvel as it soared past Marvel’s previous highest grossing opening – Iron Man 2‘s $128 million. Opening weekend aside, The Avengers will likely continue to break records as it will remain relatively unchallenged at the box office until Battleship opens on May 18th. The other thing that The Avengers has going for it is that it’s really good. I saw it over the weekend and loved it and audiences everywhere are saying the same thing, which means this movie should see a lot of repeat viewers and continued buzz.
Did you see The Avengers over the weekend? If you haven’t and are planning to see it, make sure you sit through the entire run of end credits because there are two secret end-credit scenes. Find out if the movie is ok to take your kids to by reading our Family Film Critic’s review of the movie, here.
Some other movies were showing over the weekend including The Hunger Games, which interestingly returned to the top 3 (it was #4 last weekend). Here is a look at the Top 10 for the weekend of May 4 – 6, 2012:
1. Marvel’s The Avengers ($200,300,000)
2. Think Like a Man ($8,000,000)
3. The Hunger Games ($5,700,000)
4. The Lucky One ($5,510,000)
5. The Pirates! Band of Misfits ($5,400,000)
6. The Five-Year Engagement ($5,100,000)
7. The Raven ($2,508,000)
9. Chimpanzee ($2,395,000)
10. The Three Stooges ($1,800,000)