Big Budgets, Even BIGGER Box Office Returns

Marvel's Ca$h Cow.

UPDATE: The official numbers are in and The Avengers's three day total is... $207,438,708. Numbers should be updated.

Apparently, it seems that everyone saw Marvel's latest smash hit, The Avengers. Well, everyone but me... Whoops. Joss Whedon's latest project was highly touted even before Marvel whispered about possibly bringing together the hodgepodge of Supers. I guess that hype helped, along with critical acclaim. Yes, The Avengers have HULK SMASHED Box Office weekend records with a, ready for it? A whopping $207,438,708.

$207.4 million. 

Not only am I cooler than you, but
I'm waaaay richer than you too.

Say it again. $207,438,708. In three days. Suddenly, that "awesome" desk job you have while making $80k a year don't sound so fun. Heck, I'm not even going to think about that money, as a college student...

Granted it's just an estimate and final figures won't come out until later today, but. Um. Wow. When The Avengers burst into theaters, it had the second best opening day ($80.5 million) only finishing behind Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows, Pt. II (which raked in $91 million). However, The Avengers surged ahead the last HP film by almost $32 million. Now, that's just silly.

Another silly thing: The Avengers has already grossed more than Thor, Captain America: First Avenger, and The Incredible Hulk. Again, did I mention The Avengers has only been out THREE DAYS? What. It will most likely pass Iron Man and Iron Man 2 in the next coming days, too, "only" needing $100 million more. 

With no real competition in the next coming weeks, The Avengers could be sitting atop the top spot of the box office for some time. Does Marvel's latest superhero romp have a chance to catch James Cameron's Avatar, as "The Richest Film Ever"? Short answer, yes.

Yep. Money, money, money.

With already $650 million plus in the bag internationally, The Avengers looks to break the next record, All-Time Highest Grossing Film IN DA WORLD. While the almost $3 billion Avatar shouldn't have earned seems like an incredibly lofty goal, the 3D/IMAX ticket prices should help The Avengers get pretty darn close. Plus, the competition in the following weeks is... shall we say, underwhelming. The Dictator, Sascha Baron Cohen's latest laughfest and Battleship (things go boom) will probably be the only summer movies to have chance, and well, I doubt they will. The 11th of May truimphs Tim Burton's latest Johnny-Depp-as-a-weird-character movie, Dark Shadows, based on a TV show. Ehhhh. Still don't think it'll be much competition for The Avengers.

No doubt, once May 25 comes around, Men In Black III should look to take the top spot atop the Box Office, but that's more than enough time for The Avengers to add to their ridiculous money pile. After that, the Box Office Top 3 might get a little bit crowded, as Snow White and the Huntsman, fan-favorite Piranha 3DD (Yes... Double D...let your mind wander...), and Prometheus, along with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter all come out in June. Don't forget about the kitty flicks either. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Pixar's latest Oscar win Brave are both due out in June.

Regardless, The Avengers should stick around the top, if not at the top, of the Box Office mountain for weeks to come.

Then, she whispered seductively,
"You ruin lives, John Carter."

The budget that Whedon had to work with was a whopping $220 million. Well, The Avengers should break even in a couple of days, then. Yikes. While this is a well-done film, no doubt, the big budgets that are being handed out is kind of a scary concept. I'm really hoping studios don't just throw money at a project, hoping that this would somehow give it a broader box office appeal. I'm looking at you Disney's John Carter. Seriously, people lose their jobs for stupid budgeting, isn't that right, Rich Ross? 

Regardless, The Avengers is making history. There certainly is an optimistic future for Marvel's superheroes. If anyone was worried about The Avengers not making money... well, those fears are long gone. Look for a sequel to get green-lit soon... and all those spin-off films for Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D., Ant-Man (???), Hawkeye, The Hulk, etc. plus the sequels to Cap. Am., Thor, and Iron Man. A concern with this is perhaps Marvel studios will see GREEN and the piles of money, so they rush the projects and they end up flopping miserably. Seriously, do NOT rush an Ant-Man film. It could end up being awesome or a huge stinker. But actually.

Guys, I'm cool! I talk to ants!
That's so totally useful in real life!

Another concern that pops up is that other studios making superhero films (Sony, Fox with Spider-Man and X-Men respectively) see that The Avengers made a crapton of money and they think their stuff will, as well. Well, wrong. Again, giving big budgets doesn't mean getting big box office returns. Just look at what happened to X-Men: First Class. Even though it was pretty well done, it just didn't have that big of a box office draw that it was projected to have. With its sequel in the making, a Wolverine film in the makes and possible mutant spin-offs, people need to be cautious. Throwing money at films don't automatically make them "good." Right, X-Men Origins: Wolverine? Right. 

Still, The Avengers's big box office draw a good sign for the superhero genre, plus there are two more on the way this summer. It will remain to be seen whether The Amazing Spider-Man can get the same draw. I, for one, am a bit doubtful that it will match what Marvel Studios just pumped out, but there is one superhero film that could be a major competitor...

The Dark Knight Rises. 

Yes. The summer of superheroes is here, and it will most likely be happening again for summers to come... whether you like it or not.

Also, it's nice to see that Joss Whedon won't be getting a big head anytime soon... Cue BriTANicK...