The Avengers Smashes weekend records

We all knew the Avengers was going to be huge, but it went all Hulk on them, smashing them to bits. The Avengers raked in $207.1 million in its opening weekend, becoming the first film to hit that milestone in its first three days of release. Which means that it was bigger than sparkly vampires and wizards.

Disney exec Dave Hollis said Sunday, was the validation of "a carefully thought out plan six-plus years" in the making. All the Samuel L. Jackson cameos, and all the Avengers Initiative-related tags on Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America culminated in a team-up film that, Hollis said, "found a way to make all their stories very relevant, not just for fans, not just for men."

And women showed up in droves for the superhero flick. The Avengers, written and directed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, scored the largest female opening-weekend crowd (40 percent) since Iron Man 2.

The Avengers hit the theaters running—taking in $18.7 million in midnight screenings—and only got bigger: $80.5 million for all of Friday; $69.7 million on Saturday, a new record for that day; and, $56.9 million on Sunday. The film easily bested the opening-weekend performances of the Marvel Studios movies whose hero-stars were assembled for The Avengers: Iron Man ($99 million) and Iron Man 2 ($128 million); Thor ($66 million); and, Captain America ($65 million).

It blew away even the superhero-record $158.4 million posted by The Dark Knight, and raised the bar considerably for the Batman franchise's upcoming adventure, The Dark Knight Rises, due out July 20.

Here's an Avengers-revised rundown of the top 10 all-time opening weekends, as compiled per BoxOfficeMojo.com stats:
1. The Avengers, $200.3 million
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, $169.2 million
3. The Dark Knight, $158.4 million
4. The Hunger Games, $152.5 million
5. Spider-Man 3, $151.1 million
6. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, $142.8 million
7. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, $138.1 million
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, $135.6 million
9. Iron Man 2, $128.1 million
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, $125 million