Publications
Partners
Los Angeles - The superhero saga The Avengers lived up to its blockbuster buzz with $178.4m in overseas ticket sales days before it opens in US theatres.
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 on Friday, 4 May 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.
'So much anticipation for Avengers'
"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 at the US box office for the second-straight weekend with $18m.
Four movies were bunched up for the No 2 spot in the $11m range: Sony's animated comedy The Pirates! Band of Misfits with $11.4m; the Warner Bros romantic drama The Lucky One with $11.3m; Lionsgate's blockbuster The Hunger Games with $11.25m; and Universal's romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement with $11.2m.
Those four flicks were so close that their rankings from Sunday studio estimates could change once final numbers are released on 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 $7.7m and John Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe mystery The Raven from Relativity Media at No 7 with $7.3m.
"I think going to the movies will be the No 1 priority next weekend but clearly was not the No 1 priority this weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "There's so much anticipation for The Avengers that the newcomers kind of got lost in the shuffle."
The Hunger Games climbed to $372.5m domestically, putting it less than $10m behind last year's Harry Potter finale, the top-grossing entry of that fantasy franchise.
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: $24.7m in Great Britain; $19.7m in Australia; $15.9m in Mexico; $12.9m in South Korea; and $12.9m 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 $169.2m, followed by The Dark Knight with $158.4m and The Hunger Games with $152.5m.
"Who knows?" Disney's Hollis said. "It's a film that comes with very high expectations but leaves audiences exceptionally satisfied. I'd say there's opportunity for some repeat viewing just in the first weekend that will help make it big."
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 on Friday, 4 May 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.
'So much anticipation for Avengers'
"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 at the US box office for the second-straight weekend with $18m.
Four movies were bunched up for the No 2 spot in the $11m range: Sony's animated comedy The Pirates! Band of Misfits with $11.4m; the Warner Bros romantic drama The Lucky One with $11.3m; Lionsgate's blockbuster The Hunger Games with $11.25m; and Universal's romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement with $11.2m.
Those four flicks were so close that their rankings from Sunday studio estimates could change once final numbers are released on 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 $7.7m and John Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe mystery The Raven from Relativity Media at No 7 with $7.3m.
"I think going to the movies will be the No 1 priority next weekend but clearly was not the No 1 priority this weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "There's so much anticipation for The Avengers that the newcomers kind of got lost in the shuffle."
The Hunger Games climbed to $372.5m domestically, putting it less than $10m behind last year's Harry Potter finale, the top-grossing entry of that fantasy franchise.
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: $24.7m in Great Britain; $19.7m in Australia; $15.9m in Mexico; $12.9m in South Korea; and $12.9m 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 $169.2m, followed by The Dark Knight with $158.4m and The Hunger Games with $152.5m.
"Who knows?" Disney's Hollis said. "It's a film that comes with very high expectations but leaves audiences exceptionally satisfied. I'd say there's opportunity for some repeat viewing just in the first weekend that will help make it big."
