The Avengers breaking box office records - The Avengers

So like it going to make back almost all of its budget even before it gets to the US?

That's... staggering. I'm staggered. But at the same time, not really surprised.

On the route to one billion or more? :)

Yay!
I think I'm going to see it again soon, just because it was that good.

I've been trying to see it again since Thursday, however every single screen of my local cinema is booked out. I've actually heard Cineworld and Odeon have received complaints from members of public it's impossible to see the film.

gossi | April 29, 16:59 CET

And unlike many movies that have great box office openings, Avengers will continue making profits well after its release. That's what happens when a movie is actually GOOD and not just cinematic and highly marketed.

WhatsAStevedore | April 29, 17:00 CET

Yeah. The fact so many people are going to see it will be largely down to Disney doing it right. But I imagine it will continue to do well abroad, because the movie is great.

gossi | April 29, 17:02 CET

Saw it today in 2D and even hearing how big it was I was surprised that the room was full in my local town cinema (135 seater screen, probably 10 empty seats at most) on a mid-day Sunday. Made a nice change from when I saw Serenity (about 5 other people there) and CitW (about 30 other people there).

Leaf | April 29, 17:22 CET

There'll probably be some additional tracking for countries with International Workers Day on Tuesday, especially if that happens to also be a holiday.

Numfar PTB | April 29, 17:22 CET

Soon it will have made more money than the Buffy franchise.

Simon | April 29, 17:37 CET

@Simon, do you know how much the Buffy franchise has made?

lisatwingomez | April 29, 17:43 CET

I think Variety or The Hollywood Reporter guestimated it at around $250 million or more.

Simon | April 29, 17:44 CET

Oh my God, this is so exciting. I definitely have to buy my ticket tomorrow before they're all sold out.

I was reading some reviews on IMDB (spoiler-free of course) and everyone seems to love this movie. It brought tears to my eyes to read all the good things they had to say about the film and Joss. I couldn't be happier for him.

Destructo Girl | April 29, 17:48 CET

I've seen it twice now.
Can't honestly remember the last time I saw a film twice at the cinema.

strangeaction | April 29, 18:41 CET

So exciting to talk about the numbers but remember that the theaters keep 50% of the box office. Disney/Marvel only gets half of it to apply toward production cost.

This is a ginormous success and will continue to break records but it will need at least $400 to $450 in box office to break even. Math is your friend.

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 19:11 CET

The 50% figure isn't accurate across all venues. Abroad it's often very different, for instance, and these are international figures.

For reference in Australia it's the 2nd highest opening ever, Mexico, Philippines and Hong Kong all set new records as highest opening. The figures in the UK and Germany are actually on the lower end, which suggests a troublesome marketing campaign (I didn't see one TV advert, for example). It could also be the movie didn't open on enough screens - I still haven't been able to see it again, as the cinema is booked out on prebookings alone.

The numbers are roughly double Iron Man 2 so far, which took $620m total. Add DVD and Blu-Ray worldwide, and licensed sales, and this is $1bn+ profit movie, assuming audience reaction is good. Feedback on Twitter is almost universal praise - in fact, I've only seen a handful of negatives - which contrasts starkly (and sadly) to Cabin in the Woods.

[ edited by gossi on 2012-04-29 19:25 ]

gossi | April 29, 19:24 CET

Yes that 50% number is based on the US but I believe the international distributor (where Disney doesn't have direct relationships) also get a sizable percentage of the box office.

Safe bet to cut everything in half before bringing up the word profit in these circumstances.

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 19:34 CET

Opening it internationally first allows word of mouth to build up about how great it is before it reaches American shores, so this was a good stategy on the part of Disney after the John Carter debacle.

jettamesis | April 29, 19:49 CET

Well, we don't know the financials, but given all the tie in licensing and all that, I imagine it will have broken even by next weekend. I mean, Russian, China and Japan haven't opened yet, and there's the US next weekend. Any way you look at it, it's going to do great - and if audiences respond well, it's going to do better than great.

gossi | April 29, 19:50 CET

I agree completely, gossi. In time The Avengers is going to be crazy profitable and will be by far the most profitable Marvel film which is really all it needs to be measured against. Of course every single number will be compared against DK this summer so that will be interesting. I'm pulling for a Hulk Smash on the Bat.

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 19:57 CET

Well, irrational TV, that shows I don't know squat about movie economics. I was just surprised the guy who made the story on Sunday Morning was actually concerned "The Avengers" wouldn't make enough coin. I guess it's based on when the story was made. That concern will be going away very quickly, since this is also way before home video. Imagine what that will generate.
Still, once the movie hits 400 million worldwide, the case will be made, and Joss' career will never be the same because everyone will know what we've known since 1997.

impalergeneral | April 29, 19:59 CET

I have my ticket for the midnight show at my local theatre. It's in AVX 3D so reserved seating and now the only seats left are in the outside seats of the first few rows at the front!

Locally, it is not coming up with any non-3D versions in local theatres.

samatwitch | April 29, 20:02 CET

Absolutely right, impalegeneral, Joss is/will be in another stratosphere now. I'm thrilled for him.

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 20:06 CET

I don't want to look at any of the spoiler threads but I would be interested in a quick opinion on the quality of the 3D. I normally HATE 3D but would make an exception for Joss if peeps think it is better than usual.

lottalettuce | April 29, 20:14 CET

lottalettuce, a friend on twitter who saw an early screening dislikes 3D and is recommending this on 3D for what that is worth.

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 20:20 CET

I'm gonna go see it tomorrow. I can't wait, I am so damn excited! Have to watch it in 3D, because where I live the original English version is unfortunately not offered in 2D. But who cares. TOMORROW!!! :D

Illy | April 29, 20:35 CET

I've booked the 2D showing for the family on Tuesday but if it's good I think I may see it again in 3D and put up with two pairs of glasses at once.

So pleased for Joss right now.

The Do That Girl | April 29, 20:39 CET

I'm not a fan of 3D, except for Avatar, despite that I thought the 3D for Avengers was good.

However the reduced frame rate for 3D meant that some of the fast action scenes seem blurred compared to the 2D version. I would honestly recommend seeing it in both 2D and 3D.

technovamp | April 29, 20:43 CET

@lottalettuce I am not a massive 3D fan but chose that option as the showing time suited me more. It works. I have to say I am now planning on seeing it again but this time in IMAX 3D. The effect is used more for depth of field than as a gimmick.

viewingfigures | April 29, 20:43 CET

@lottalettuce - Just remember that this was not filmed in 3D. I'm sure Joss had a hand in the conversion, but it was meant to be seen in 2D.

Also, I've heard a lot of the opening sequences are very, very dark in the 3D version.

(Caveat - I dislike 3D and have only like it in Hugo and the short that opened Toy Story 3, so my opinion might be a little biased.)

Vandelay | April 29, 20:51 CET

I'm curious about how much dinero Joss gets out of this. I know we don't know the final gross, but I'm assuming Joss (Kai?) was smart enough to get a percentage of the gross, NOT the net. And he IS credited as writer AND director, so that's gotta count for something. Does anyone have a clue about this? At least in percentage terms?

OlderWiserNot | April 29, 20:51 CET

Anyone know how many screens it's opening on in the US? The present top 2 record holders opened on 4300+ screens. The top 10 is all over 4000.

Charmuse | April 29, 20:57 CET

Hmmm, 3D with IMAX sounds like a possibility.

technovamp, for what it's worth I consider Cameron's use of 3D in Avatar better than any other I have seen (and by a far margin), but I still didn't like it. Only because it is Joss am I even considering it. Haven't tried the 3D IMAX though so that would be a new experience.

lottalettuce | April 29, 20:58 CET

I don't think if Joss is a big enough player in movies to get anything off the gross. That is usually reserved for the absolute biggest directors and stars (think Scorcese and Brad Pitt) and isn't done that much at all anymore. I woud guess he had a very healthy upfront salary with bonuses if he met certain budget and timeliness benchmarks and a participation deal out of profits. The details of that would be negotiated by lawyers, top secret and only known by Joss' people and the Marvel/Disney people.

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 20:58 CET

Vandelay, thank you for that bit of information. I have to assume that Joss knew it would be converted to 3D and took that into some slight consideration, but if he didn't actually shoot it that way, then that decides it- 2D for me!

lottalettuce | April 29, 21:01 CET

He actually planned to shoot in 3D but they had so much trouble with the technology that he axed it and decided to go for conversion. So everything was planned & shot with the knowledge & intent for 3D viewership.

QingTing | April 29, 21:35 CET

Yippieh!
I'm repeating myself: Joss Whedon so much deserves it!
And we have a great film to see, to which I'm so looking forward, because it's not yet in the theatres of my german hometown.
No, it's not Stuttgart btw, it's Heidelberg, but I read a small Spoiler about the Stuttgart scene and it's so funny, because in Stuttgart many citizens have resisted and still resist the new station building which is criticized being the costly and nonsensical result of corruption, possession of power and arrogance of the former representatives there.
They were named "Wutbürger" (approximately "Citizens of Rage") by journalists, maybe in an attempt to defame them, yet none of them turned green when demonstrating, not even when hit by the police' water cannons ...

[ edited by cleveland on 2012-04-29 22:18 ]

cleveland | April 29, 22:13 CET

On my way home from a 2d screening. It was comfortable seeing it without those glasses.
It might be more about the screening room, but although it was shot in 2d, final act was more thrilling in 3d.

Had no issues with darkness. I don't think that early sequence was too dark in 3d.

However the Imax experience is different depending on your seat. Closer seats were a bit too immersive, and scenes simulating shaky stuff were almost to real. Further seats don't have that effect.

Numfar PTB | April 29, 22:24 CET

I saw it Friday here in Seoul. Every seat was filled, the audience laughed in the right places, gasped in the right places - it was great. I'm happy to have contributed my 9$ to that figure.

Going back next weekend to see the 3D version.

RobinInSeoul | April 29, 22:57 CET

We're way beyond the "yays" and "absolutes". Joss has broken into the mainstream!

Smiling ear-to-ear here! Gosh, he so had this coming. Congrats, Joss!!

Madhatter | April 30, 01:05 CET

I smell an Oscar. Maybe two, even!

Jonnathan | April 30, 05:21 CET

As a certified 3D hater, I have to admit that I was glad I saw this in 3D, it really worked. The depth helped in the final battle scene, especially. I saw no problem with darkness, if some have experienced this, it could be due to poor settings at the cinema. To avoid the "two-sets-of-glasses" problem, I wore lenses, which has its own problems, but the movie made me forget about them.

OldSwede | April 30, 06:30 CET

Maybe the success of The Avengers will allow him to make another movie set in space with some of his favorite actors. One can dream.

jettamesis | April 30, 06:54 CET

"The effect is used more for depth of field than as a gimmick."

This makes me happy.

If you haven't done the two sets of glasses thing before - I have, and I find the 3d ones fit very nicely over my real glasses.

So excited, just a couple more days! WOO

DreamRose311 | April 30, 17:31 CET

April 29 2012