Will 'Avengers' Be The Year's Biggest Blockbuster?

Box-office expert looks at possible competition from 'Dark Knight Rises,' 'Amazing Spider-Man' and more.
By Kara Warner

Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson in "Avengers"
Photo: Marvel Studios

Now that so many of us have seen "Marvel's The Avengers" and helped make it this summer's box-office blockbuster to beat, it's time to look ahead at the rest of the season's cinematic offerings to see which tentpole has the power to compete with Earth's mightiest heroes.

The likeliest contender competing for some of the "Avengers"-size box-office haul is "The Dark Knight Rises," Christopher Nolan's dark, brooding, third and supposedly final Batman movie. Other buzz-worthy potential moneymakers to keep an eye on are Ridley Scott's "Alien"-esque prequel "Prometheus," Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man," Rupert Sanders' "Snow White and the Huntsman" and Barry Sonnenfeld's "Men in Black 3."

To be fair, the "Avengers" haul is going to be very difficult to duplicate, particularly the record-breaking opening-weekend take of $207.1 million, which beat the $169.2 million set by previous champ "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," MTV News consulted Boxoffice.com editor Phil Contrino for his wisdom on the subject and to see if any other summer fare has a chance at besting the records set by "Avengers."

"I don't think anything other than 'Dark Knight Rises' can pull it off," Contrino said. "With 'Spider-Man,' every time a franchise is rebooted, it takes a while for the fans to dip their toes in the water and get a feel for it. 'Spider-Man' will be the same thing, maybe worse, because it's so close to the [release] of the original. 'X-Men: First Class' and even 'Batman Begins' didn't open to huge numbers, and a lot of people forget that. 'Prometheus' is [rated] R. For an R-rated movie to do $200 million would be something really monumental, almost impossible, I think."

Contrino went on to say that "Dark Knight Rises" has a couple of factors that will prevent it from catching "Avengers," but that it does have a chance of besting the #2 best opening-weekend gross set by "Deathly Hallows, Part 2."

"It's not in 3-D, so it doesn't have the bonus financial boost, and it's not nearly as family-friendly; it's dark and broody. Disney did a good job of turning 'Avengers' into a family-friendly movie. I think that's ultimately what pushed it as far as it's gone," Contrino said. "I don't see anything else this summer beating it."

Check out everything we've got on "Marvel's The Avengers."

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