U.S Box Office Report - 25th - 27th May 2012

1.    Men In Black 3 - $55M - $55M
2.    The Avengers -    $36.9M - $513.6M
3.     Battleship - $10.7M - $44.2M
4.     The Dictator -    $9.6M - $41.4M
5.    The Chernobyl Diaries - $8M - $8M
6.     Dark Shadows -    $7.5M - $62.9M
7.     What To Expect When You're Expecting     - $7.1M - $22.1M
8.     The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - $6.3M - $16M
9.    The Hunger Games - $2.2M - $395.2M
10.    Think Like a Man - $1.4M - $88.2M

Memorial Day weekend in North America this frame and that means potentially bigger Sunday figures as people take advantage of not working Monday with a late weekend cinema trip.  After Dark Shadows and Battleship, the big guns arrive this frame in the guise of Will Smith and Men In Black 3. The Avengers made it three at the top last weekend, but a fourth win looked out of reach - not that it would bother the billion dollar grosser. Hoping for a quick hit would be producer Oren Peli, who returns with another horror picture, this one set in the shadow of Chernobyl. Elsewhere, the aforementioned Battleship would be looking for a minor miracle to salvage its domestic performance.

U.S Box Office Report - 18th - 20th May 2012

1.    The Avengers - $55.1M - $457.1M
2.    Battleship - $25.3M - $25.3M
3.    The Dictator - $17.4M - $24.5M
4.    Dark Shadows - $12.7M - $50.9M
5.    What To Expect When You're Expecting - $10.5M - $10.5M
6.    The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - $3.2M - $8.2M
7.    The Hunger Games - $3M - $391.6M
8.    Think Like a Man - $2.7M - $85.8M
9.    The Lucky One - $1.7M - $56.9M
10.  Pirates! Band of Misfits - $1.4M - $25.3M

Something of a busy weekend release wise, with three new films joining the summer battle. All will be attempting to knock the record breaking Avengers off its top perch, with one of them, Battleship, standing the best chance. Elsewhere, Dark Shadows will be hoping  for a decent second frame while the limited release, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, looks for another top ten finish despite being at a fraction of the screens of any other chart release. Next frame sees the return of Will Smith after a gap of four years, with Men In Black 3. He'll be joined by Oren Peli's latest found-footage horror movie, The Chernobyl Diaries. Summer still has plenty of surprises in store.

U.S Box Office Report - 11th - 13th May 2012

1.     The Avengers -    $103.1M - $373.1M
2.     Dark Shadows -    $28.8M - $28.8M
3.     Think Like a Man - $6.3M - $81.9M
4.     The Hunger Games - $4.4M - $386.9M
5.     The Lucky One - $4M - $53.7M
6.     The Pirates! Band of Misfits - $3.2M - $23.1M
7.    The Five-Year Engagement - $3M - $24.4M
8.     The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - $2.6M - $3.72M
9.    Chimpanzee - $1.6M - $25.5M
10.  Girl In Progress - $1.3M - $1.3M

The second weekend of blockbuster season brings us another major release in the guise of Dark Shadows. The Tim Burton directed picture won't have an easy time of it though, having to face off against the second frame of the record breaking Avengers. After opening above $200M, the Marvel release will be hoping for a sub-60% drop this weekend. Next frame we've got three wide opening releases, followed a week later by the return of Will Smith in Men In Black 3.

U.S Box Office Report - 4th - 6th May 2012

1. The Avengers - $200.3M - $200.3M
2. Think Like a Man - $8M - $73M
3. The Hunger Games - $5.7M - $380M
4. The Lucky One - $5.5M - $47.9M
5. The Pirates! Band of Misfits - $5.4M - $18.5M
6. The Five-Year Engagement - $5M - $19.1M
7. The Raven - $2.5M - $12M
8. Safe - $2.4M - $12.8M
9. Chimpanzee - $2.3M - $23M
10. The Three Stooges - $1.8M - $39.6M

Please Note: This report contains a brief history of The Avengers, along with details of the previous Marvel films set within the same universe. There are also end credit spoilers for The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor and both Iron Man films. Should you wish to skip the extensive report and spoilers, please scroll down to the section separated with ----------. Thank you.

After months of waiting, summer blockbuster season is finally here, and it comes complete with what is sure to be one of the biggest films of 2012 - The Avengers. From now until well in August, there'll be at least one major potential blockbuster every weekend - sometimes even two or three. The box office is more than ready for the big films too, according to sources, Thursday was the first day this year in which no single film made over $1M. The first week in May is often seen as one of the strongest release dates of the season, giving a film little competition in general - at least for seven days. Elsewhere, The Five Year Engagement will try and recover from a poor first frame and The Pirates! will be hoping that the family market give it another shot.