• 'Avengers' earns $103 million in week two, sets more records

    By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter

    Marvel Studios

    "The Avengers" continues to set new records at the box office.

    Breaking another record, "The Avengers" grossed a stunning $103.2 million during the weekend in North America, becoming the first movie to cross the $100 million mark in its sophomore outing.

    Worldwide, "Avengers" expects to jump the $1 billion mark on Sunday after only 19 days, matching the speed record set by "Avatar" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2."

    Photos from THR: 28 of summer's most anticipated movies

    With "Avengers" doing such massive numbers, the news wasn't so good for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's latest collaboration. "Dark Shadows" debuted to a muted $28.8 million domestically, putting pressure on the Warner Bros. film to have strong legs.

    Prerelease tracking had suggested that Burton's campy adaptation of the classic vampire soap opera would earn $35 million to $40 million. The movie only received a B- CinemaScore and skewed noticeably older, with 73 percent of the audience older than 25. Females made up 57 percent of the audience.

    Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said the studio certainly wanted "Dark Shadows" to do more but says the film will benefit from being female-centric in the coming weeks as "Battleship" and "Men in Black 3" open.

    "We're hoping that the next few weeks set the pace for where the movie is going," Fellman said.

    Story from THR: 'Avengers' could reach $1 billion by Sunday

    "Avengers" also beat "Dark Shadows" overseas, grossing $95.4 million in its third weekend for a foreign cume of $628.9 million. Domestically, "Avengers' " cume through Sunday was $373.2 million, becoming the fastest film to reach $300 million.

    The performance of Joss Whedon's superhero pic is a substantial victory for Marvel Studios and its parent company Disney, propelling Disney's film division to No. 1 in domestic market share as of Sunday.


    "Avengers' " global box office already has surpassed the global box-office totals of setup films "Captain America: The First Avenger" ($364 million), "Thor" ($449 million), "Iron Man" ($585 million) and "Iron Man 2" ($624 million).
     
    Internationally, "Avengers" already has eclipsed the three "Spider-Man" pics and "The Dark Knight" to become the most successful superhero title of all time.

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  • Best Bets: Stern fans, foes can finally see if host has judging 'Talent'

    By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

    Once, May meant that all television shows were ending and a season of reruns was ahead. No more. Now we've got a year-round TV season, so you can choose from small-screen or big-screen entertainment pretty much year-round. This week, "America's Got Talent" is just about to get underway, and some of the movies you've been hearing about for months are arriving in theaters.

    Here are our top three entertainment picks for the week ahead.

    1. MONDAY: "America's Got Talent" premiere
    Yes, fans are divided about radio host Howard Stern joining "America's Got Talent" as a judge when the show premieres this week. But Stern himself told Matt Lauer he plans to be a "very serious judge" and confesses he even hugged one young auditioner who didn't make the grade. Can he change the opinion of those who know only his raunchy radio image? Tune in and find out. (Premieres May 14, 8 p.m., NBC.)

    2. WEDNESDAY: "The Dictator"
    Sacha Baron Cohen has been parading around as "The Dictator" for months now, even making a controversial appearance on the Oscars red carpet (he actually apologized for dumping ashes on Ryan Seacrest). Now the film, which features Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen, a North African dictator who heads to America, where he finds himself having to fit in to the culture he's railed against. A scene from the trailer shows him leaning into a NYPD patrol car, asking the officer, "Is there any way you could lend me some money? Maybe ... $20,000,000?" Note: This film opens on a Wednesday, not the normal movie-opening day, Friday. (Opens May 16.) 

    3. FRIDAY: "Battleship"
    Yes, it's inspired by the Hasbro board game, leading to plenty of jokes as to whether Liam Neeson will growl "You sank my Battleship!" But if you can't lead into the summer movie season with aliens and a lot of explosions, when can you do it? You may need to put your brain on hold, but mixed early reviews praise the unapologetic action and escapism. Plus, it may be your first chance to see singer Rihanna act. (Opens May 18.)

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