The Hollywood Reporter has crunched some amazing numbers for the debut of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. After reporting on it’s nutso midnight pull of $18.7 million (more than The Dark Knight‘s $18.5) with a guess at $158.4 million for the weekend, they now report that the total Friday take is a whopping $80.5 million – the second biggest Friday opening of all time. Not to mention the 93% it’s currently receiving on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing.
They’re now speculating that given that the film has outstripped all its projects, it may well end up having the biggest opening for a superhero movie. And that’s nothing when you consider the international numbers, especially when compared to the constituent origin films of some of the main characters.
THR’s Pamela McClintock writes:
The tentpole, which unites key Marvel superhero characters, has already $334.3 million internationally — eclipsing the total lifetime grosses for Iron Man ($267 million), Thor ($268 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($192 million) and Iron Man 2 ($311.5 million) – whose characters also are in Avengers. It should eclipse Iron Man 2 ($311.5 million) by Saturday at the latest.
Guys, that’s effing nuts. Add that to it’s Friday numbers, and we’re talking $414.8 million worldwide. Holy crap. I really hope this means studios will pay more attention to Whedon’s work, especially when it comes to mainstream media sourced from comic books. This is clearly a winning formula. And while they’re at it, maybe Fox and Disney can come to terms with the use of other Avengers (Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Spider-Man, Wolverine) in future films, eh? Look! There’s plenty of money to go around.
Anyway, THR also took the time to compile a neat little guide for those whose interest in comics have suddenly piqued. Because apparently this film has also caused a surge in hype for vintage Marvel comics.
What does all this mean? Well coupled with the success of Christopher Nolan’s take on the Batman franchise, I’m really hoping this means no more terrible comic book films. We have now seen valid work from the likes of both Marvel’s and DC’s heroes galleries. There’s no reason why we should be phoning in crap like Catwoman, Ghost Rider (either of them), or the “You won’t like me when I’m Ang Lee” version of Hulk. Take some pride, guys. Craft a stellar product and receive stellar returns. It’s just that simple. And I’d also like to take a moment to point out that every critic who compares this film to Transformers is not only missing the point and not actually watching the film, they are also morons.
We’ll keep you guys posted on the ongoing hype! Have you seen it yet? What do you think? And remember to check out my spoiler-free review and Melissa’s analysis of Whedon’s style! Big ups to The Hollywood Reporter for keeping track of the Avengers madness!
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