Avengers Poised to Make $100 Million, Win the Box Office

With a $29.1 million Friday (the best second Friday ever at the U.S. box office, eclipsing The Dark Knight's), The Avengers is expected to make close to $100 million, more than triple the next best film this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. The site predicts that Tim Burton's revamp of Dark Shadows, starring Johnny Depp, will make $29 million or so after an opening-day total of just under $10 million. Comparatively, it opened softer than any Burton film in recent memory, although in terms of dollars alone it's fairly close to what Sleepy Hollow took in on its opening night. That said, Warner Brothers can't be thrilled that you have to go back 13 years to find a Tim Burton movie that performed at this level--and even that doesn't account for inflation. His next film, a remake of his own 1984 short film Frankenweenie, will likely open stronger when it releases in IMAX 3D in October--but that film is being made for Disney, who distributed The Avengers, making what may be comfort to Burton likely to feel like salt in the studio's wounds. Falling 64% compared to last Friday, The Avengers' larger-than-normal drop is actually pretty comparable to other massive blockbusters; they drop off a little faster than smaller-grossing films as many viewers make it a point to see these kind of "event" movies on opening weekend. According to Box Office Mojo, the film set yet another record by reaching $299 million in eight days, suggesting that reaching $500 million by the end of next weekend might be possible.