Sunday, May 6, 2012

Hollywood's superhero summer has arrived with a vengeance.

The Marvel Comics mash-up "The Avengers" launched the summer movie season with a $200.3 million opening weekend domestically, by far the biggest debut ever.

If distributor Disney's revenue estimate Sunday holds when the final weekend count is released Monday, "The Avengers" would be the first movie ever to haul in $200 million in a single weekend.

A $200 million total for every movie in release is considered a great weekend for the business as a whole, so "The Avengers" redefines the standards for a blockbuster debut.

"The Avengers" shot past the previous record of $169.2 million for the debut of last year's "Harry Potter" finale.

With $441.5 million overseas since last week, "The Avengers" worldwide total climbed to $641.8 million.