‘The Avengers’ grosses $200 million in opening weekend (VIDEO)
Actors Tom Hiddleston (fourth from left) and Clark Gregg (fourth from right) ring the opening bell at The New York Stock Exchange as part of a celebration of the release of Marvel Studios “Marvel’s The Avengers” on May 1, 2012 in New York City.
LOS ANGELES — "The Avengers" is expected to have made $200.3 million in its opening weekend in America, making it the country's highest grossing film ever, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
It easily surpassed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which opened to $169.2 million last summer, according to the Reporter.
The wildly successful superhero film premiered overseas on April 25, including openings in Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the Philippines, CNN reported. It grossed $151.5 million worldwide over the weekend, bringing the movie's total haul is $641.8 million in its first 12 days, the Associated Press reported.
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"The Avengers" has grossed more than other Marvel superhero flicks "Iron Man," "Iron Man 2," "Thor" and "Captain America" took in during their entire runs, according to the AP.
Marvel's landmark comic book film throws superheroes Captain America (played by Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) together to fight against a combative alien race called the Chitauri, MTV News reported.
The smash hit movie is signaling a rebound for the film industry, which has pulled in $2.3 billion at US box offices in the first three months of 2012, CNN reported. That's a 46 percent increase from 2011, the worst year for ticket sales in 16 years, according to Box Office Mojo.
"It's already started out to be a strong year," James Gross, an analyst with Buckingham Research, told CNN.
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