"The Avengers" Prepares for Monster Bow
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Set to kick off summer 2012 with a bang, The Avengers opens as the weekend’s sole wide release. Against the superhero juggernaut, holdovers should have mixed declines, with the female-skewing ones seeing lower drops.
Standing as the first ever superhero crossover film, Disney opens the highly-anticipated The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the PG-13 actioner features Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson reprising their roles as Iron Man, Thor, Captain
A Marvel Comics title has kicked off summer for six years now, and The Avengers may very well be the biggest bow yet. Disney has backed its first Marvel project with a strong, loud marketing push, while the previous five films with these heroes carry much goodwill alongside a combined domestic gross over $1 billion. The superhero ensemble will surely post one of the biggest debuts ever, but how big is the question.
The records for midnight shows, opening day and opening weekend are all held by last July’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, with $43.5M, $91.1M and $169.2M. Even if The Avengers fails to match those numbers, it will easily come close. The current May record is held by fellow Marvel sequel Spider-Man 3 with $151.1M, and with 3D surcharges and a half-decade of ticket price increases, the new flick should easily top the dollars if not the attendance.
A massive launch in over 4,000 theaters (plus IMAX) will help, and with many April films seeing weak numbers, theaters will gladly triple, if not quadruple book, The Avengers. As one might expect, the superhero epic will skew male with a broad age range, though young females may take interest with the hunky stars. Terrific reviews are just another bonus. Charging into over 4,000 theaters, The Avengers could punch up $163M this weekend.
In limited release, Fox Searchlight opens the dramedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in 27 theaters. The British pic starring Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench, and Maggie Smith has already grossed $70M worldwide and garnered good reviews stateside.
Still riding great buzz, Think Like a Man should perform as a great non-superhero alternative. A 40% drop to $11M would give Sony a terrific $76M in 17 days.
The Hunger Games will finally lose its dominance on the fantasy crowd. Lionsgate could tumble 50% to $5.5M and a smashing tally of $380M.
Overall, the box office should top both 2011, when Thor hammered a strong $65.7M bow, and 2010, when Iron Man 2 soared to a massive $128.1M opening.
