UPDATE: The official figure for the Avengers' opening weekend US box-office is now a staggering: $207.4million
The Marvel Studios film, distributed by Walt Disney was always going to be a tentpole release, an action-fest specifically designed to appeal to the masses. There was no way that film that combined Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury was ever going to tank. But until it was screened in full to critics there was always the possibility it wouldn't live up to expectations. Even then, with most critics' vocal approval, one had to wonder to what degree a wallet-aware public was going to get behind the Marvel ensemble. Big? Obviously. Huge? Possibly. Mega-big? Don't bet against it. But the fact is that even the most conservative pundits and studio executives couldn't quite have predicted the sheer size of the box-office tsunami.
With over $250 million taken in overseas screenings in the week before The Avengers (or Marvel Avengers Assemble as it is called in the UK to distinguish it from the 1990s crash-and-burn Ralph Fiennes/Uma Thurman/Sean Connery bomb) opened in America on Friday, the word-of-mouth was building. The predictions soared from a $125 opening weekend in the US to $150, then $175. It now confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter the tally to date is $200.3million, making it the biggest opening weekend OF ALL TIME even before final figures. (And, remember, that's only three days of release). The combined totals for the film (rumoured to have cost a not inconsiderable $200-$250 million) as of late Sunday afternoon are $641.8million worldwide - with more numbers to come in before the end of the weekend. While many film releases drop considerably in their second week, even a drop of 50% would hardly stop the juggernaut and with many audience-members indulging in repeat-viewing, the prediction of OVER $1 billion wordlwide during its primary release seems plausible. Especially with NO Japanese numbers (another primary market) added to the mix as yet.
It was only a few weeks ago that Disney were facing a bruising from the release of another potential tentpole, John Carter. While that film did not take bad numbers per se, it's generally been agreed that the marketing - from the title downwards - was fumbled, relying on tricking people into thinking it wasn't a sci-fi movie or relying on their knowledge of the hundred year old tale. That film's box-office was seen as massive, expensive misstep. The success of the Avengers, with a slow-build, multi-platform, staggered release and ready-made fanbase - not to mention three years of movie prologues - has shown that the Marvel/Disney machine knew what it was doing and executed the campaign almost perfectly.
Though there have been critics of certain aspects of the film, it's almost impossible to find a wholly negative review of the film. Rotten Tomatoes, the famed website that calculates the positive/negative trends of reviews, gives the film a respectable 94% (to give some indication, John Carter has a 52% hit rating and the film Battleship - not released in the US as yet - has 43%). Samuel L Jackson took the New York Times critic A O Scott to task for writing probably the most dissmissive take on the film ('bloated') but it was clear from the review that Scott knew he wasn't the intended audience and that he was in the minority. What as been noted is that it DOES appear to have been a success in many demographic beyond the target young 18-24 market.
The other superhero films of the summer, The Amazing Spider-man and Batman in The Dark Knight Rises are expected to do very well. However the web-slinger's marketing has only just started kicking into gear with a new trailer and many are wondering whether the massive numbers from the previous Batman outing, The Dark Knight, were partly enhanced by the tragic death of its star Heath Ledger as the Joker before release. The latest Batman outing has an undeniably great trailer and all the major talent returning, but is a more dark and somber piece than many other films of the summer and may not generate the repeat-viewing, feel good factor of The Avengers.
Work begins shortly on the Iron Man 3 film in China, with confirmed sequels to Thor and Captain America already being planned. Marvel have also confirmed they have major plans for the Hulk as a core-character in their various multimedia marketing, though no firm news on a solo film outing is confirmed as yet.
See our recent Avengers interviews here: http://www.impactonline.co/features
