'Avengers' swamps competition with $55.6M weekend

[May 22, 2012]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "The Avengers" torpedoed "Battleship" and Hollywood's other newcomers to remain the No. 1 film for the third-straight weekend with a domestic haul of $55.6 million.

That lifted the film's domestic total to $457.7 million, while its worldwide ticket sales have climbed to nearly $1.2 billion.

"Battleship" opened a distant No. 2 with $25.5 million. Debuting at No. 3 was Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy "The Dictator" with $17.4 million, while the ensemble pregnancy tale "What to Expect When You're Expecting" premiered at No. 5 with $10.5 million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "The Avengers," Disney, $55,644,102, 4,249 locations, $13,096 average, $457,665,517, three weeks.

2. "Battleship," Universal, $25,534,825, 3,690 locations, $6,920 average, $25,534,825, one week.

3. "The Dictator," Paramount, $17,435,092, 3,008 locations, $5,796 average, $24,476,173, one week.

4. "Dark Shadows," Warner Bros., $12,583,338, 3,755 locations, $3,351 average, $50,721,759, two weeks.

5. "What to Expect When You're Expecting," Lionsgate, $10,547,068, 3,021 locations, $3,491 average, $10,547,068, one week.

6. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," Fox Searchlight, $3,230,584, 354 locations, $9,126 average, $8,228,025, three weeks.

7. "The Hunger Games," Lionsgate, $2,950,331, 2,064 locations, $1,429 average, $391,581,441, nine weeks.

8. "Think Like a Man," Sony Screen Gems, $2,650,549, 1,722 locations, $1,539 average, $85,838,460, five weeks.

9. "The Lucky One," Warner Bros., $1,778,453, 2,005 locations, $887 average, $56,934,628, five weeks.

10. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," Sony, $1,578,632, 1,840 locations, $858 average, $25,490,136, four weeks.

11. "The Five-Year Engagement," Universal, $1,110,375, 1,175 locations, $945 average, $27,103,010, four weeks.

12. "Chimpanzee," Disney, $667,528, 895 locations, $746 average, $27,008,515, five weeks.

13. "Bernie," Millennium Entertainment, $491,436, 95 locations, $5,173 average, $1,124,572, four weeks.

14. "Wrath of the Titans," Warner Bros., $476,327, 360 locations, $1,323 average, $82,520,290, eight weeks.

15. "Girl in Progress," Lionsgate, $459,357, 322 locations, $1,427 average, $2,137,371, two weeks.

16. "Dr. Seuss' the Lorax," Universal, $458,595, 379 locations, $1,210 average, $210,191,325, 12 weeks.

17. "The Three Stooges," Fox, $436,495, 594 locations, $735 average, $41,830,632, six weeks.

18. "Mirror Mirror," Relativity Media, $403,814, 407 locations, $992 average, $61,551,236, eight weeks.

19. "The Cabin in the Woods," Lionsgate, $381,566, 448 locations, $852 average, $40,551,639, six weeks.

20. "John Carter," Disney, $368,994, 114 locations, $3,237 average, $72,157,379, 11 weeks.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com/

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

[Associated Press]

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