Will Avengers Sink Battleship?

Sorry, we couldn't resist the cheesy headline, but we imagine we won't be the only site to pose the question in this way. With The Avengers annihilating everything in its path, the big question becomes can it win the box office three weekends in a row. In its debut weekend, everyone pretty much knew Avengers was going to win, though few predicted it shattering the $200 million mark. In its second weekend, everyone was jumping on the Avengers bandwagon and calling for the film to handily beat Dark Shadows. Still, the $103 million that broke the record for a second weekend box office exceeded most expectations. Now, The Avengers faces its most formidable competition yet in the form of Battleship from director Peter Berg. Universal sank a reported $200 million plus into the production of Battleship, so the stakes are high. Battleship has performed strongly in foreign markets where it has already been released, so it could give Avengers a run for its money in the U.S. But if Battleship opens weak, then it could also turn out to be the biggest flop since…well, since John Carter a couple months ago. Battleship is a difficult one to predict, as we could see it doing anywhere from a low of $25 million to a high of $75 million. More than likely, we see it coming in at the $50 million range. Where will the Avengers land in its third weekend? Well, since most people have seen The Avengers at least twice by now, it's probably looking at anywhere from a 30% to 70% drop. Even with that size drop though, Avengers should rake in between $30 million and $70 million. Considering Avengers keeps beating all estimates, we would be apt to predict high and go with around $65 million, which should be enough to sink Battleship, but it could be a close.