In what is probably the least surprising news of the week, THE AVENGERS has become the third film in history to gross over $600 million at the US box office. It is now sitting comfortably behind TITANIC (1997), and will certainly pass that film’s original run of $600.8 million. However, TITANIC 3D added an extra $58 million to that total earlier this year. It is unlikely that THE AVENGERS will pass AVATAR (2009) and its $760 million total, as next week will see the opening of fellow comic book super-hero THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and then a little film known as THE DARK KNIGHT RISES following two weeks later.
Many will argue that this isn’t that impressive when taking into account inflation. Inflation leaves THE AVENGERS at number 27 domestically, just behind GREASE (1978), MARY POPPINS (1964) and FORREST GUMP (1994). I can’t imagine any film ever beating GONE WITH THE WIND’s (1938) adjusted gross of $1.6 billion. Critics will also yell and shout about the prices of 3D showings, but let’s remember back in the day the cinema was the only place to see these films, making repeat viewings a necessity.
Worldwide, THE AVENGERS is also the number three grossing film of all time. It has accumulated $1.4 billion and is still yet to open in Japan, which will surely add a few pennies into the pot. Overall, this is fantastic news for Disney and Marvel. IRON MAN 3, THOR 2, and CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 are already under way whether in pre-production or filming.
IRON MAN 3 is released 3rd May 2013 and stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, and Ben Kingsley. THOR 2 is scheduled for a 15th November 2013 release. It stars Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 is set for a 4th April 2014 release. It will star Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson.
Source: Deadline
