All signs point to Will Smith taking the throne from Iron Man and Co. this weekend, and well they should. Smith is one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood and his involvement with a movie nearly always means it will do well at the box office. It’s also Smith’s first appearance in theaters after a three-year absence, and people have missed him. Plus, you have an already successful franchise, pre-existing love for characters.,etc… meaning it’s TOTALLY going to happen!
Or is it?
Short answer: No. I do not believe so, because while Men in Black 3
seems to have the perfect combination of box office winningness, I think The Avengers has something else, it has:3 Reasons Why The Avengers Will Stay #1 At The Box Office
1) Youre telling your friends about it.
Word of mouth is one of THE BIGGEST things to make or break a movie. You can have as much anticipation as you want surrounding the coolest-looking movie ever, but box office-wise that will only translate to a strong first day or two. Once those first weekenders have gone home to tell their friends and family how crap Matrix 2 is then nobody else goes to see it. If reviews and word of mouth are positive then the people just keep on coming. Lucky for us The Avengers rocked. It was funny, sad, action packed and just all the way around awesome. You told your friends this and they told their friends and the friends kept on coming, as they will continue to do.
2) You saw it twice.
There was SO much going on in that movie that you just HAD to see it again to fully get your head around it. Then you sit by yourself and realize that now youve had 2 showings of the movie to make a decision you HAVE to go back because of how good it was, just to relive the moments. That’s three times. Then you have the friend who hasnt seen it yet, Oh sure, I loved it! Ill definitely see it again with you! Thats 4 times. Now imagine EVERYBODY in the theater who saw it with you on that first night seeing it again. Were 4 weeks in at this point, enough time has passed that its time to take Grandma to see it. You keep going through those doors and the box office take keeps on going up!
3) Robert Downey Jr.
According to Box Office Mojo:
Its pretty widely accepted that as of 2008, Will Smith was the undisputed king of the box office. From 1996 to 2008 the Fresh Prince headlined a dozen $100 million movies.
All well and good, but that was 2008, since then a new Fresh Prince is in town, a metal prince, emerging from the world of rehab and crime Robert Downey Jr, rose like an iron phoenix from the flames of the 90s to emerge as one of the most popular movie stars ever. Seriously… add Sherlock Holmes to The Avengers universe and Downey pretty much has the box office sewn up. Smith has been away, and in that time Downey has filled the void left behind by the mega-movie-star. He will keep those fans who might have given up on Will Smith coming back to the theater for more of his winning charisma and star power.
