i thought it was already out too, go figure...
Posted on 04/29/2012 1:38:45 PM PDT by TheBigB
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The superhero saga "The Avengers" lived up to its blockbuster buzz with $178.4 million in overseas ticket sales days before it opens in U.S. theaters.
Domestic audiences generally passed on a bunch of new flicks as fans seem to be in anticipation mode for Disney's "The Avengers," which debuts Friday in the United States after launching in 39 other countries a week earlier.
The huge overseas launch will help fan the frenzy already in place for "The Avengers," the superhero mash-up of Marvel Comics idols whose cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson.
"You hope that the magnitude of this kind of opening sends a signal that this is a for-everyone film," said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney. "You can't put up these kinds of numbers if it's just for guys or just for the fans. These numbers say that it is for everyone, 8 to 80."
The Sony Screen Gems ensemble comedy "Think Like a Man" was No. 1 domestically for the second-straight weekend with $18 million.
Four movies were bunched up for the No. 2 spot in the $11 million range: Sony's animated comedy "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" with $11.4 million; the Warner Bros. romantic drama "The Lucky One" with $11.3 million; Lionsgate's blockbuster "The Hunger Games" with $11.25 million; and Universal's romantic comedy "The Five-Year Engagement" with $11.2 million.
Those four flicks were so close that their rankings from Sunday studio estimates could change once final numbers are released Monday.
Along with "Pirates," whose voice cast was led by Hugh Grant, and "Five-Year Engagement," which stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, the other newcomers were Jason Statham's action tale "Safe" from Lionsgate at No. 6 with $7.7 million and John Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe mystery "The Raven" from Relativity Media at No. 7 with $7.3 million.
......excerpted.... Along with the United States, "The Avengers" has yet to open in other big markets that include Japan, China and Russia.
Among the overseas totals for "The Avengers": $24.7 million in Great Britain; $19.7 million in Australia; $15.9 million in Mexico; $12.9 million in South Korea; and $12.9 million in France.
Directed by Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), "The Avengers" has strong word-of-mouth domestically from fans who were able to see advanced screenings.
Critics also have given the film high marks, and the publicity blast from the overseas revenues could push the movie into record-debut territory. The "Harry Potter" finale now has the top opening weekend domestically with $169.2 million, followed by "The Dark Knight" with $158.4 million and "The Hunger Games" with $152.5 million.
Scarlett Johnansson.
We little boys went from Annette to Mrs. Peele (with a few glances at Laura Petri) instantly.
The media continues to try to re-make America and 'give us an identity' when what they're destroying is the real America.
The 60's were the 60's and no amount of occupying will relive it.
The older I get, the more I realize I didn't have to "grow up" and certainly shouldn't have allowed my brain to be trampled by progressiveism.
I'm a late bloomer, but I shine in a field
Definitely one I want to see on big screen. I still hate the fact that they didn’t give Captain America real little wings, and painted them on. For Pete’s sake, in this day and age you can’t give him an accurate costume? And I miss Thor’s double winged helmet.
i thought it was already out too, go figure...
Sure enough. All these skinny white guy actors start to blend.
I was rather partial to Tara King.
I was rather partial to Tara King.
Pity it’s a Disney ( spit )
I’ll wait till it hits Netflix.
It is an effort to thwart piracy. If the movie opens in high piracy countries, they get a day or weekend headstart before the pirates have DVDs out in the streets or online.
We saw it last Friday and it was excellent!
For superhero movies, they usually do a full mock-up to see if it does work on film.
If it’s not on film, it probably wasn’t working.
That’s why nobody saw Wolverine in his yellow and brown costume.
It’s actually easier to pirate when it opens overseas. Right now, The Avengers is on the internet and available for streaming via most of the file upload sites (e.g. putlocker, filebox, nowvideo.eu, etc).
I saw it online this weekend. Wasn’t that great in my opinion, but the parts with the Hulk were kinda humorous.
yeah, i see even Harry Dean Stanton had a part! i always liked him there were some good lines but i thought downey was bit much in the wise ass department, i never remember Iron Man like that in the comics but it was prolly in his contract
i saw that and Contraband both friday night
I don’t think the Iron Man story, where Tony Stark is a drunk, who can barely stand up, is the most appealable storyline. :)
100% i didn't like the whiny drunk bit in IM-II either...
Agreed. The Hulk was also true to the essence of the original comic book series.
Didn’t think of that, but of course you’re right. Overall, I think they’ve done excellent jobs now that they finally have CGI for the suits. Green Lantern was wonderful.
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