Avengers Opens With US$80mil Gross

MAY 5, 2012 - It didn't break the opening day record, but Marvel's The Avengers still got off to one of the best starts ever on Friday. The movie earned US$80.5 million, which is the second-highest opening day ever behind last Summer's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (US$91.1 million). More impressively, when you take midnight grosses out The Avengers scored US$61.8 million during the day on Friday, which obliterates Spider-Man 3's previous record of US$49.8 million.

In Malaysia, The Avengers collected US$3.3 million (or RM9.9 million) during its opening weekend from April 26-29.

The Avengers started flexing its muscles in U.S. and Canadian midnight screenings on Friday, earning US$18.7 million and starting Hollywood's summer season with a bang. The movie, from Walt Disney Co. unit Marvel Studios, staked its claim to the second-highest midnight debut for a non-sequel film, coming in about US$1 million shy of the March 2012 total for The Hunger Games at US$19.74 million, according to industry tracker Hollywood.com.

The Avengers, in which Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Black Widow, among others, team up to combat evil on earth, landed at No. 8 on the list of all-time best midnight openings behind several "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" franchise films.

The best midnight debut belongs to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, the final movie in that series that conjured up US$43.5 million in its midnight debut last year.

The Avengers accounted for over 80 percent of ticket sales on Friday, but there were other movies in the market as well. Think Like a Man fell 51 percent to an estimated US$2.68 million, which was good for second place.

The Avengers kicks off four months of movie-going filled with effects-laden flicks, adventure, science-fiction, comedy and big-name Hollywood stars meant to lure mostly younger audiences that are out of school for the summer. The season can bring in as much as 40 percent of annual movie ticket sales in the US and Canada.

Already, The Avengers has leveraged its superhero status to a massive box office in international markets after just nine days in cinemas. As of Friday morning, ticket sales reached US$304 million, Disney said, surpassing total overseas receipts for Captain America, the first Iron Man and Thor.