A few weeks ago, Forbes magazine declared that Tony Stark—a.k.a. Iron Man—was worth a whopping $9.3 billion, making him the world’s fifth richest fictional character (one slot behind The Beverly Hillbilly’s Jed Clampett).
If real-world dollars count on this fictional list, methinks that Mr. Stark may be moving up.
The Avengers, starring Stark and a bevy of other Marvel superheroes, officially crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide this weekend—one of just 12 films to reach that lofty threshold. I think that’d be enough to buy some scrap metal for a new suit, don’t you?
The film scored big domestically, too (the figures we typically chart here on “Movie Monday”). In its second weekend in theaters, The Avengers earned an estimated $103.2 million in North America to set another record (the best second weekend ever, blowing away Avatar’s $75.6 million mark set in 2009) and easily held onto first place. It’s made $373.2 million domestically so far—making it the 18th most lucrative film of all time. And even though The Hunger Games is still making millions in theaters ($4.4 million this week for fourth place), there’s little doubt that The Avengers will overtake Katniss’s troupe of tributes to become the year’s biggest money-maker—perhaps by the time you read this blog.
Given the superhero firepower on display at the box office this weekend, Dark Shadows didn’t really stand a chance. The gothic horror comedy tripped on its own cape and earned just $28.8 million in its opening weekend—nearly $90 million less than Tim Burton/Johnny Depp’s last collaboration, 2010’s Alice in Wonderland.
Think Like a Man sidled into third place with $6.3 million, just ahead of Games. The Lucky One squeaked into fifth with just a little more than $4 million.
Now all attention (well, at least mine) turns to next week, when the three-week-old Avengers takes on another CGI leviathan, Battleship. Will Iron Man et al torpedo this cinematic flotilla? Or will Marvel execs say, with furrowed brow, “You sank our movie!”?
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