THE AVENGERS‘ FIRST DAY: $80.52 MILLION

The Avengers counted $80.52 million in ticket sales on Friday, its first day in domestic bliss. That figure for the Disney/Marvel superheroes blockbuster was topped only by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2‘s opening day gross of $91,071,119 last year. But 48 percent of the Potter movie’s first-day take came from midnight screenings, while just 23 percent of The Avengers‘ did. In other words, it performed far more strongly on the actual Friday night than Deathly Hallows 2. If it can maintain that sort of momentum, it could yet wind up with the biggest opening weekend ever. Stay tuned.