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"The Avengers" bigger than originally thought
Published: 5/7/2012 12:45 PM
Last Modified: 5/7/2012 12:45 PM

When the initial figure of $200.3 million for the opening weekend of "The Avengers" was first announced on Sunday afternoon, I was astounded by the figure and curious about its accuracy.

Almost no one saw Marvel's superhero collaboration passing opening-weekend No. 1 ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" at $169 million). Nobody predicted the $200 million figure.

My own guess was in the $150 million-plus range. The Thursday midnight shows didn't sell out in volume like Potter movies or "The Hunger Games" did, but I knew the weekend would bring out adults in a stronger fashion than for those other pictures.

Every weekend when movie box-office figures are announced on Sunday afternoon for publication (we run them in Monday's Tulsa World each week), it's only an estimate.

The studio (Disney in this case, which bought Marvel Studios a couple of years ago) on Sunday afternoon had actual dollar grosses for Friday and Saturday. They had to estimate the Sunday gross, and their best guess was $50 million.

A new estimate for Sunday box-office emerged on Monday morning of $56.8 million, which would take the total to a heroic figure of $207.1 million for the first three days -- besting the old record by $38 million. Wow.

I thought the Sunday figure would be off considerably from the estimate because when the figures get this large, the estimate vs. the actual figure always seems to off by millions of dollars. This time, it appears to have been in the positive direction.

Now the question begs: "Harry Potter's" last movie held the record for all of 10 months, so how long does "The Avengers" stay atop the box-office mountain?

Can "The Dark Knight Rises," destined in my opinion to be in this summer's top two films with "The Avengers," open at a figure in the $200 million-plus range?

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Long Live Gusty! (10 months ago)

Imagine how much more they would have grossed if they would have included Ant Man. :)

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I See Movies for Free

“I was born a poor, black child” … not me, actually, but Steve Martin’s character in the “The Jerk.” That absurd opening line is just one of the absurd number of film facts, quotes and minutiae contained in movie critic Michael Smith’s brain, at his disposal to toss out on a moment’s notice. It’s a key requirement as Tulsa World film critic to know these things. Michael learned a few other life facts along the way (seven years as a Crystal’s Pizza & Spaghetti manager) before attempting journalism and joining the Tulsa World in 1996, where he’s covered everything from a school shooting in Fort Gibson to a tornado in Stroud to witnessing an execution. A little community theater coverage was sprinkled in there, too. Movies engender many of his happiest memories, from standing in line for “Star Wars” and “Grease” at the Southroads Cinema to the James Bond and Pink Panther movies that always premiered at the enormous Continental Theater.

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Past Articles By Michael Smith

2/16/2013		Broken Arrow movie theater moves to discount showings
2/15/2013		Review: 'Amour'
2/15/2013		Review: 'A Good Day to Die Hard'
2/15/2013		Review: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/14/2013		Review: 'Quartet'
2/14/2013		Shirley MacLaine to speak at Osage Casino
2/14/2013		Weekly rewind: February 14
2/14/2013		REVIEW: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/12/2013		Belgian best picture hopeful 'Amour' opens in Tulsa on Friday
2/10/2013		'Die Hard' marathon at AMC Southroads on Wednesday ends with new film
2/9/2013		Review: 'Identity Thief' a stupid movie from stupid idea
2/8/2013		Oscar audit: Critics choices for best picture hold up over time

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