Friday Box Office: The Avengers on pace to break all-time opening weekend record

The Avengers came in at a whopping #1 at the box office.As everyone expected, yesterday was an Avengers blowout at the box office. But what few predicted (I didn’t) was that the Marvel Comics adaptation could achieve the biggest opening weekend of all-time. That’s almost certainly going to happen now. With a Friday gross of $80.5 million and a likely first weekend of $180 million–over $10 million more than the current record-holder (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two)–The Avengers has officially Hulk-smashed away all the competition. Get ready for the sequels.

Holdovers Think Like a Man and The Lucky One rounded out the top three, but seriously, who cares? I’ve included the full top 10 after the jump, but you know you’re just going to read the jaw-dropper of a first line and then bail…

No. Title Friday Critic Speak Weekend Projection Theaters
1 The Avengers $80.5M $180M 4,349
2 Think Like a Man $2.7M $7.8M 2,010
3 The Lucky One $2.0M $5.7M 3,005
4 The Five-Year Engagement $1.7M $5.3M 2,941
5 The Hunger Games $1.6M $5.3M 2,794
6 The Pirates! Band of Misfits $1.3M $5.2M 3,358
7 The Raven $0.8M $2.4M 2,209
8 Safe $0.8M $2.3M 2,271
9 Chimpanzee $0.7M $2.2M 1,531
10 The Cabin in the Woods $0.5M $1.4M 1,669

Source: Box Office Mojo