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'Avengers' smashes record

Chris Evans, portraying Captain America, left, and Robert Downey Jr., portraying Tony Stark, star in “The Avengers.” The movie shattered the box office record for an opening weekend with $200.3 million.

LOS ANGELES — Hulk, smash.

That’s what Captain America tells the Incredible Hulk to do in “The Avengers,” and that’s what the Marvel Comics superhero mash-up did at the box office, smashing the domestic revenue record with a $200.3 million debut.

It’s by far the biggest opening ever, shooting past the previous record of $169.2 million for the debut of last year’s “Harry Potter” finale.

“The Avengers” added $151.5 million overseas over the weekend to bring its total to $441.5 million since it began opening internationally a week earlier.

That raised the film’s worldwide haul to $641.8 million in barely a week and a half, more than its Marvel superhero forerunners “Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor” and “Captain America” took in during their entire runs.

If distributor Disney’s domestic estimate Sunday holds when the final weekend count is released today, “The Avengers” would be the first movie ever to haul in $200 million in a single weekend.

While the number could dip below $200 million, Disney spent the weekend revising its forecasts upward as business kept growing.

1. “The Avengers,” $200.3 million ($151.5 million international).

2. “Think Like a Man,” $8 million.

3. “The Hunger Games,” $5.7 million.

4. “The Lucky One,” $5.5 million.

5. “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” $5.4 million ($2.6 million international).

6. “The Five-Year Engagement,” $5.1 million ($2.3 million international).

7. “The Raven,” $2.5 million.

8. “Safe,” $2.47 million.

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