Weekend Box-Office: ‘The Avengers’ Smashes Opening Record with $200.3 Million!

Well, how you like them apples? The Avengers opens with a massive $200.3 million, which, obviously is a record and is also $192.3 million more than its closest competition. Let’s take a little look at this and see what else there is to say.

Laremy predicted the #1 movie correctly 1 Weeks In A Row

Marvel’s The Avengers

The previous opening weekend record was set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 just last year at $169.1 million. To break a record by $31.2 million is to truly break a record and Disney must be pretty confident in that $200 million number because you don’t want to overestimate and have headlines saying you’re the first film to ever take in over $200 million on opening weekend only to have to retract the estimate a day later.

So here we are, in an age where movies now make $200 million over the course of three days and over $640 million worldwide in just 12 days with more territories yet to release the film. Will it make over $1 billion? You bet, but how high will it go? Can Joss Whedon finally get the credit he has long deserved and will he finally be handed the keys to the likes of… I don’t know… Wonder Woman, which he was attached to direct seven years ago?

As for predictions, Laremy didn’t listen to me and erred on the safe side of things, but I would like to point out “anthony caban” who didn’t have the closest prediction, that belonged to “Brandon Want Food” with a $202.3m guess, but Anthony predicted $215.7 million last Sunday and several readers laughed and pointed… well, I think he deserves an apology.

And finally, now that we have our first $200+ million opener what’s next? Will the likes of The Dark Knight Rises or The Hobbit be able to top that number? The Dark Knight will be in IMAX, but it won’t have 3-D ticket sales boosting its number… The Hobbit will. Decisions… Decisions…

Weekend: $200.3 million

RottenTomatoes Score: 94%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #1 and his prediction of $144 million was $56.3m off for a percentage error of 28.11%.
As small as $8 million might look against $200.3 million, Think Like a Man is one of the year’s biggest success stories thus far. $73 million in three weeks on a $12 million budget is nothing to laugh at.
Weekend: $8 million (-54.5% drop) / Cume: $73 million / RottenTomatoes: 52%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #2 with $11.5 million, which is $3.5m off for a 43.75% error.
The Hunger Games continues to hold on nicely as well, raising its domestic cume to $380.7 million and grossing over $617 million worldwide.
Weekend: $5.7 million (-47.3% drop) / Cume: $380.7 million / RottenTomatoes: 84%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #3 with $6.4 million, which is $0.7m off for a 12.28% error.
It looks like I’m still going to be talking about The Lucky One for a couple more weeks. I can’t tell you how much I wish more films would be released sooner rather than later.
Weekend: $5.5 million (-49.1% drop) / Cume: $47.9 million / RottenTomatoes: 21%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #6 with $4.8 million, which is $0.7m off for a 12.73% error.
I’m not sure how to judge this one. $18.5 million on a $55 million budget, and it has brought in a grand total of $82 million worldwide. It still has some money to make up, but looks like a breakeven kind of film. Is that good?
Weekend: $5.4 million (-51.4% drop) / Cume: $18.5 million / RottenTomatoes: 86%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #4 with $6.1 million, which is $0.7m off for a 12.96% error.
The $30 million budget here helps the fact it just didn’t connect with audiences.
Weekend: $5.1 million (-51.9% drop) / Cume: $19.2 million / RottenTomatoes: 64%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #5 with $4.9 million, which is $0.2m off for a 3.92% error.
Ditto the $26 million budget on this one, though I suspect this one may fair a little better overseas, though it has only brought in $3.5 million so far, but there is still time and still territories for it to open in.
Weekend: $2.5 million (-65.3% drop) / Cume: $12 million / RottenTomatoes: 21%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #8 with $3.7 million, which is $1.2m off for a 48% error.
8. Safe
Wow, along with The Raven, this film dropped like a rock in its second weekend and I actually heard some good buzz on this flick, though the RottenTomatoes score doesn’t reflect that opinion.
Weekend: $2.4 million (-69.2% drop) / Cume: $12.8 million / RottenTomatoes: 54%

Laremy’s rank: Laremy picked it to finish #7 with $4.3 million, which is $1.9m off for a 79.17% error.
Hi chimpanzee movie.
Weekend: $2.3 million (-55.8% drop) / Cume: $23 million / RottenTomatoes: 75%

Laremy’s rank: Not Ranked
Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck.
Weekend: $1.8 million (-64.7% drop) / Cume: $39.6 million / RottenTomatoes: 48%

Laremy’s rank: Not Ranked

Once you get down to the bottom it almost feels like what’s the bother when the obvious conversation is the $200 million earner at the top, but also opening this week was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in 27 theaters where enough blue hairs showed up for it to rake in a solid $750,000 for a $27,778 per theater average.

Next weekend Tim Burton and Johnny Depp return to theaters with Dark Shadows. Will it be completely overlooked by another big weekend from The Avengers? How far will The Avengers drop in week two? Will that $200 million opening fall later this year? Perhaps courtesy of The Dark Knight Rises or The Hobbit?

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