Marvel Studios and Disney are popping many bottles of champagne this weekend as The Avengers starring Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) is expected to cross the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, becoming the twelfth film ever to do so. Not even the arrival of a pasty white and pointy toothed Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows could slow the mighty superhero team down.
Disney estimates The Avengers second weekend of release in North America box office total stands at $103.2 million. It is the first film every to cross the $100 million barrier in its second weekend of release, and the number could be higher if the stellar “A+” CinemaScore rating drove additional ticket buyers to the multiplex as it did last weekend.
Marvel and Disney have many records to brag about when it comes to The Avengers. In addition to the aforementioned record, it is also the fastest film to reach $200 million in North America (3 days), fastest to $300 million (9 days), and the top Saturday ($69.5 million) and Sunday ($57 million) of all time. International records include the top opening weekend ever in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Central America, Malaysia, Philippines, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates.
The only market left for The Avengers to invade is Japan, and that won’t occur until August 17.
Overall in North America, The Avengers has racked up $373.2 million on its march to $500 million and beyond. Overseas, The Avengers continues to assemble audiences from all over the world with $628.9 million in business to date.
Of the top 12 worldwide grossing films of all time that have crossed $1 billion, five were distributed and marketed by Disney. In addition to The Avengers is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Toy Story 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Alice in Wonderland.
Now that The Avengers is poised to climb into the top 10 grossing films of all time with east, if not the top five or three, Marvel Studios is readying the next series of films that will lead up to The Avengers 2. They include Iron Man 3 which begins shooting in roughly a week for a May 2013 release, Thor 2 for November 2013, Captain America 2 for April 2014, and an unannounced project for later in 2014. Early development work on The Avengers 2 is already underway with an anticipated, though unconfirmed by Marvel, summer 2015 release.
