The rest of the movie world has officially been warned: You don’t mess with a team of superheroes.
The Avengers totally obliterated the competition on Friday, finishing its opening day in theaters with one of the best days ever, according to early box office reports.
Box Office Mojo reported that the big budget movie about a group of heroes coming together to save the Earth, earned an estimated $80.5 million, only $10 million shy of the record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2 ($91.1 million).
It’s midnight showing brought in $18.7 million—the eight highest midnight opening.
There’s no doubt that the studio now has its sights set on the $169 million opening weekend record, also set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2.
The Avengers star-studded cast includes:
- Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man)
- Chris Evans (Captain America)
- Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
- Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow)
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)
The rest of the competition on Friday wasn’t even close.
Think Like a Man, the reigning No. 1 for two weeks straight, had no chance against the group of heroes, earning $2.6 million. But it’s been an impressive couple of weeks for the comedy, which is based on book by comedian Steve Harvey.
The rest of the top 5 rounded out like this: The Lucky One ($1.95 million), The Five-Year Engagement ($1.7 million) and The Hunger Games ($1.6 million).
The group of Marvel heroes were powerful enough to beat out The Hunger Games, which back in March, opened to the tune of $68 million.
