Captain America's Opening Weekend Wasn't Bigger Than Thor
Not unexpected, but slightly disappointing nonetheless: according to final box office numbers released on Monday, Captain America: First Avenger did not have the biggest opening weekend of any superhero film released in 2011. That title still belongs to Thor -- the Norse god earned almost $700,000 more than Captain America did during his initial frame. On the bright side, here's guessing plucky underdog Steve Rogers wouldn't have it any other way. [LAT/Company Town]
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I thought it was interesting that 60% of the audience saw Thor in 3-D in its opening weekend, while only 38% chose 3-D for Captain America. People are finally catching on -- eschewing "unreal" 3-D and it's dark, muted colors and muddy contrast, seeing a better version of the film, and saving money to boot. But that also means Captain America almost certainly had a larger first-weekend audience than Thor, despite its slightly smaller B.O.
Analyzing these things can be so random. For instance, Box Office Mojo states that Captain America had the biggest superhero opening of the year based on estimated attendance - as you wrote earlier, I believe, Thor generated 60% of its sales for 3-D showings, while Cap generated around 40%.
On the other hand, 60% of the first weekend's audience were willing to pay more to see Thor, versus 40% of those going to see Cap.
Personally, I'm more interested in its staying power. Movies that keep playing with relatively low drop offs (like Bridesmaids, Insidious, and Midnight in Paris) impress me far more. If Captain America has lower drop offs than the standard summer action movie, I'll go see it. If not, I'll wait to red box it.
This story is going to boost this issue in some detail.