Avengers Crushes Opening Weekend Box Office Record With $200 Million Plus

It's hard to believe that a little over a week ago, most expert box office forecasts for The Avengers opening weekend were topping out at $150 million. We were the first to go out there with a prediction as high as $175 million, which was still looking over-optimistic as late as Friday when The Avengers failed to set a midnight opening record. In our enthusiasm, we even noted, "We might be tempted to predict $200 million, but we don't know if the theaters will be able to fit in enough screenings to reach that total." Well, it looks like the theaters found a way, as many theaters added multiple midnight screenings and even early morning screenings throughout the weekend. Disney has released the official number for Saturday box office at $69.7 million, which means combined with Friday's $80.5 million, The Avengers is already sitting at $150.2 million after only two days. The conservative forecast for Sunday is $50 million, which brings The Avengers opening weekend total to over $200 million. Box Office Mojo places the total opening weekend number at $200.3 million. The $200 million plus opening weekend has left much of Hollywood in a state of shock, as it hits a number many previously thought was unachievable. The Avengers not only beat Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2, but it has crushed the boy wizards' opening weekend by more than $30 million. With these even better than expected results, Disney executives are likely scrambling to fast track the sequel, and Warner Bros. has to be dusting off the idea of a Justice League movie sooner rather than later.