It seems “Marvel’s The Avengers” has discovered the magic formula for making a film the people will beat down walls to see. Undoubtedly, public tastes in movies around the world changes because of many societal, political and economic factors. But for now, pure fantasy and familiar comic book heroes, plus advanced production technologies, equal the most financial success ever.

In only 19 days of release, “Marvel’s The Avengers” has done $1 billion dollars in business around the world. In the United States, its second weekend total of $103.2 million gives it $373.2 million for its first two weeks, making it the largest grossing film domestically for both its first and second week.

Director Tim Burton and superstar Johnny Depp were stymied by the success of “Avengers” and pulled in a meager $28.8 million for their new film, “Dark Shadows,” proving that in the movie business, timing is everything.

“Think Like A Man” came in third this weekend with $6.3 million, followed by “The Hunger Games” with $4.4 million and “The Lucky One” with $4.1 million. For a complete listing of all the box office results for Mother’s Day weekend, click on the link below.

In very limited release, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” did $2.7 million in just 178 theaters. It will be released much wider next weekend.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator” opens Wednesday May 16th, followed by “Battleship” and “What To Expect When You’re Expecting” over next weekend.

http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/bo_numbers/studio_estimate/2012-05-13