3 Things to Know About ‘The Avengers’ Smash Opening

Audiences assembled in massive numbers this past weekend to watch The Avengers.

The action movie that united five superheroes and a couple of super spies also proved to be a redemption story for maker Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) after the John Carter debacle.

The film grossed $200.3 million during opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, according to Box Office Mojo. This amount shoots an arrow through the $152.5 million brought in during the opening weekend for Lions Gate Entertainment‘s (NYSE:LGF) The Hunger Games. It also makes the previous highest-grossing opening weekend of Warner Brothers Entertainment‘s (NYSE:TWX) Deathly Hollows – Part 2 ($169.2 million) appear dim in comparison.

Here are three fun facts to know about The Avengers‘ smashing success.

Women Showed Up: Disney has proven that if a film stars five super-bodied actors, women will come. In droves. Women accounted for 40% of ticket sales, according to E! News.

3-D Helped: Nearly 52% of ticket sales came from higher-priced 3D viewings, The Christian Science Monitor said.

High Budget Also Helped: The movie cost about $220 million to produce, according to The Star. That’s the biggest budget yet for a movie based on Marvel comics.