"Captain America" corners the box office

Has the superhero won the summer by pushing "Harry Potter" from the top spot?

Published July 25, 2011 1:30PM (EDT)

A scene from "Captain America: The First Avenger."
A scene from "Captain America: The First Avenger."

If early estimates are to be believed (at Deadline, Nikki Finke had her doubts on Sunday), it looks like "Captain America: The First Avenger" has flown higher and faster than its summertime superhero rivals, "Green Lantern," "X-Men: First Class" and "Thor."

According to Box Office Mojo:

Captain America made an estimated $65.8 million on approximately 7,100 screens at 3,715 locations, edging out fellow Avenger Thor's $65.7 million as well as Green Lantern's $53.2 million and X-Men: First Class's $55.1 million to top the summer's superhero launches.

"Captain America" has also pushed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" (which made only $48 million this weekend) from the top of the box office charts, overseeing a sharp 72-percent second-weekend fall for Radcliffe, Watson et al. However unfortunate Potter's ticket dip, however, it's hard to think of "Deathly Hallows 2" as anything but a success when it's already racked up the following records (among others):

  • Biggest midnight opening
  • Biggest opening weekend
  • Biggest opening day
  • Biggest international weekend
  • Biggest IMAX opening weekend

By Emma Mustich

Emma Mustich is a Salon contributor. Follow her on Twitter: @emustich.

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Captain America: The First Avenger Harry Potter Movies