The Avengers Own the Weekend Box Office, Villain for Sequel Revealed
As expected, The Avengers dominated the weekend box office. Authorities on such things knew it would do well, but they underestimated just how well:
The superhero smorgasbord featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and The Hulk brought in $200.3 million its opening weekend in 4,300 U.S. theaters, smashing the previous domestic record for any movie’s first three days, Walt Disney Studios said Sunday in a news release.
While “The Avengers” was predicted to be a hit, the performance outpaced expectations. Box Office Mojo, for instance, had projected the film would pull in $172.5 million on its opening weekend.
Its ultimate domestic haul is well ahead of the $168 million “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″ conjured up in its opening weekend domestically in July.
On Friday alone, the movie took in $80 million.
No surprise: Disney announced a sequel:
Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed the obvious today. After smashing through the record books with its $207 million domestic opening weekend and ruling the world with over $702 million grossed to date, Walt Disney Studios is working on The Avengers 2.
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Those wondering where The Avengers 2 might go need only to stay until after the credits of the first film. (Spoiler alert!). That’s cosmic villain Thanos, who makes a cameo at the end of the movie. He’s a force to reckon with, having killed every one of the Avengers in the comic book world.
You really can’t sum up Thanos in one line, so I won’t try. I will say that he is powerful; Black Widow and Hawkeye are probably going to be replaced in the sequel. They’ll need some Avengers with much greater powers than guns, arrows and acrobatics.
A primer is needed on Thanos, and the other news from Marvel Studios that you need to know for the future of the series. Look for that soon in my next Superhero List Post, here at PJ Lifestyle.
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And see Duane’s previous hits:
Which of the 5 Avengers Prequels Is the Best?
The 10 Worst Comic Book Movie Casting Blunders (And 5 That Nailed It)
I explained it to my wife like this: Thanos is a godlike being that loves Death and will do anything for her.
But his views did evolve and motivations became more complex after his initial run, and for that I look forward to that primer. (Meanwhile, I’m thinking: Cosmic Cube… Thanos… at this rate, can The Beyonder be far behind?)
Thanos is an outcast and very powerful alien who aspires to and seems at times to have god-like status.
I have no idea of the canon after about 1980, ok maybe 1990, though I’ve browsed it on Wikipedia. Hey look, we had an entire Silver Surfer movie with no Galactus, and just how can that be? I guess if they use Thanos in A2, then they set up Galactus in A3, whether or not they do an SS2 first.
But half the art of classic Marvel comics is mismatching opponents, if Frodo can beat Sauron, then what isn’t possible? All that cosmic cube kerfuffle goes nowhere, Larry Niven analyzed it years ago, story gets wiped out by cascading powers.
Thanos’ big thing is that he wins, and then defeats himself … and never learns. Will Hollywood have the nerve to do that in one movie?
I stayed until after the credits of The Avengers. It was a funny little scene with the Avengers post-battle.
Don’t remember anyone new, much less a demi-god named Thanos. Or was Thanos’ appearance before the end of the credits? My brother and I were discussing if that was Dr. Doom or the Red Skull. Guess we stopped following comics too soon.