"Avengers", box office marvel

Writer: Elaine Ewe

"The Avengers" getting ready for the box office competition.

8 May – Following the all-time weekend record set by the wizarding finale "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" last year, it is time for a different type of might and magic, one that involves puny gods and men in suits. This movie is titled "Marvel's The Avengers", and it is directed by ensemble cast extraordinaire, Joss Whedon, who is best known for his work on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Angel", which is also one of the many explanations for the movie's astounding $207.4 box office gross, although it fell short of beating the opening day record set by Potter. Another was its successful marketing campaign which targeted fans and newcomers alike which saw an appearance by Nick Fury at the end of each superhero's standalone movies and a "head count" clip by Disney introducing each of the Avengers with quips from the most-popular Avenger, Tony Stark/Iron Man. Meanwhile, "Think Like A Man" did not do as bad as expected despite the release of the superhero epic, only falling to second place while "The Hunger Games" repeats third place last weekend, according to sources at Box Office Mojo (3 to 6 May).

In Malaysia, the hype for "Marvel's The Avengers" does not look to be dampening down anytime soon, as it continues its hold on first place last weekend in addition to further proliferation of "Marvel's The Avengers" merchandise in cinema sales. Naval war movie "Battleship" sinks deeper to third place after its dive to second place last weekend to make way for the debut of Jason Statham's action thriller "Safe". Despite being riddled with clichés, watching Statham beating up villains in a bid to save an 11-year-old Chinese girl, Mei, who holds in her memory a priceless numerical code that the Triads, the Russian mob and a corrupt faction of the NYPD will kill for is definitely the safer option as opposed to Guy Pearce's similarly-premised French movie "Lockout".

In Singapore, the opening of "Marvel's The Avengers" on Labour's Day weekend also saw box office domination, while "Battleship" stayed in second place. It seems that hardly anyone is interested in watching the Joss Whedon-produced "The Cabin In The Woods" anymore, compared to a taste of his directing abilities in the superhero epic, which led to its tumble and overtaking by the Thai romantic comedy, "Fabulous 30". The movie details the ups and downs of a 30-year-old woman in life and in love, and stars lookers Patcharapa Chaichue and Phuphom Phongpanu.

New movies opening in Malaysia this week are "Safe", "Lives In Flames", "Timeless Love", "Chow Kit", "The Lady", "Vazhakku Enn", "Leelai", "Jannat 2" and "Padam Paarthu Kathai Sol".

In Singapore, new movies opening this week are "The Howling: Reborn", "Love And Bruises" and "Jannat 2".