This weekend exactly 10 years ago, an adaptation of a Marvel comic became the very first movie to make $100 million is a single weekend. That film was Spider-man and now, a decade on, another Marvel property has become the first movie to power past $200 million in only three days in the US, smashing numerous records in the process.
The film took $200.3 million on its US release, which is by far the biggest opening ever, ahead of last year’s Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2’s $169 million. It became the fastest film to $100 million, $150 million and $200 million, took the biggest Saturday ($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 milion) gross ever and had the highest per-theatre average ever for a nationwide release of $46,057.
Perhaps just as impressively its already beaten the lifetime US take of Thor, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk, and will almost certainly pass both Iron Man films by next weekend. It’s a massive vindication of Marvel’s plan to make a series of interconnected movies and will ensure we see many more movies featuring the characters in the future.
The only bad news what that The Avengers dominance meant all the other movies in the top 10 took a big hit, but cinema owners are unlikely to be complaining, and will hope this is only the beginning of a huge summer. Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of May 4th-6th 2012.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | The Avengers | $200.3 | $200.3 |
| 2 | Think Like A Man | $8.0 | $72.0 |
| 3 | The Hunger Games | $5.7 | $380.7 |
| 4 | The Lucky One | $5.5 | $47.9 |
| 5 | The Pirates! Band Of Misfits | $5.4 | $18.5 |
| 6 | The Five-Year Engagement | $5.1 | $19.2 |
| 7 | The Raven | $2.5 | $12.0 |
| 8 | Safe | $2.4 | $12.8 |
| 9 | Chimpanzee | $2.3 | $23.0 |
| 10 | The Three Stooges | $1.8 | $39.6 |