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It turns out filmgoers really do like superheroes…

 

Marvel Studios and Disney certainly have a reason to pop open the champagne bottles and celebrate! Their superhero epic, The Avengers, opened to a box office-shattering $207.4 million, the biggest opening of all time in North America. The film has continued to grow by earning $654.8 million overseas, making The Avengers easily the top grossing film of 2012.

 

Directed by Joss Whedon, the superhero blockbuster has surpassed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which opened to $169.2 million last summer, as the biggest debut in cinematic history. The Avengers has also exceeded the lifetime totals of a few of its sole hero’s films, including Captain America: The First Avenger ($364 million), Thor ($449 million), and Iron Man ($585 million).

 

The Avengers follows Marvel comics characters Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) as they assemble together to save the world from the brink of disaster. The film has already scored a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ at CinemaScore.

 

The Avengers is great news for Disney, who lost around $200 million after the spectacular John Carter flop. The film is also a sign of Marvel’s ability to build a franchise around single characters (such as Thor) as well as by bringing all of the characters together. The blockbuster hit could now reach $1 billion in global grosses.

 

Did you have the chance to see The Avengers this weekend? Let us know what you thought of it!

 

 

- Sarah Osman, YH Staff