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Snow White and the Huntsman attracted strong interest on opening day, and wound up earning more than the next six movies combined. Meanwhile, MIB 3 had a decent hold in second place, while The Avengers passed two major milestones.James Cameron

May 2012 got off to a rollicking start when The Avengers opened to a record-breaking $207.4 million, though business quickly stalled from there. In fact, The Avengers wound up accounting for 52 percent of domestic earnings in May, which is easily a new record for highest monthly share ahead of 2002's Spider-Man (37.4 percent). Because the rest of the releases were middling at best, the $1.024 billion overall tally ranks second all-time in May behind last year's $1.038 billion.Tim BurtonJohnny DeppTaylor KitschSacha Baron CohenOren PeliWes Anderson

Midnight Update: Snow White and the Huntsman got off to a strong start last night, earning $1.383 million from midnight shows at 1,092 locations. That's a bit behind MIB 3 ($1.55 million at 2,232 theaters), but ahead of other recent midnight openers Wrath of the Titans ($1 million) and Dark Shadows ($550,000). Kristen Stewart

After Summer 2012 got off to an incredible start with The Avengers, business slowed down substantially in the last two weeks of May, and it now looks like it's up to June's releases to once again kick-start the box office. The highest-grossing June on record occurred in 2009 ($1.086 billion), and with five weekends of new movies on deck, there's definitely a chance that June 2012 winds up exceeding that mark. While there's only one guaranteed box office hit (Pixar's Brave), four other titles have a strong shot at reaching $100 million—Snow White and the Huntsman, Prometheus, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Rock of Ages. Add in R-rated comedies That's My Boy and Ted, and June 2012 is shaping up to be a strong month. Kristen StewartChris HemsworthCharlize TheronRidley ScottAdam SandlerAdam ShankmanTom Cruise

MIB 3 opened to $135.3 million overseas this weekend and easily defeated four-time champion The Avengers.The movie had its best start in China with $19.5 million, which ranks seventh all-time for a Hollywood movie there. In general, the movie was strongest in Asia—it opened to $8.5 million in South Korea and $8 million in Japan, and also had an exception $3.3 million start in Taiwan. Overall, its second-best market was Russia, where its $18.9 million gross is the sixth-highest debut ever.

It's not a great start, but MIB 3 got the job done by finally dethroning mega-blockbuster The Avengers over Memorial Day weekend. Chernobyl Diaries also opened, though it barely made a blip on the radar, while Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom had one of the best limited debuts ever. For the four-day weekend the Top 12 earned an estimated $185.3 million, which is off 31 percent from last year when The Hangover Part II and Kung Fu Panda 2 ruled. Will SmithTaylor KitschSacha Baron CohenTim BurtonJohnny Depp

After dominating the charts for three straight weeks, The Avengers yielded the top spot on Friday to MIB 3. Will Smith's return to the big-screen was well-attended, albeit not quite at the level of the previous Men in Black movies, and looks to be on pace for a Memorial Day weekend north of $70 million. Horror movie Chernobyl Diaries also debuted, though as expected it didn't have much of an impact.Oren PeliSacha Baron CohenWes Anderson

Midnight Update: MIB 3 didn't attract much interest at midnight, earning just $1.55 million from 2,233 locations. That's obviously nowhere close to The Hangover Part II's $10.4 million midnight start last Memorial Day weekend; more concerning, though, is that it doesn't compare favorably to past Memorial Day sequels Terminator Salvation and Sex and the City 2 (both around $3 million) either. Those movies debuted on Thursday, and wound up with five-day openings of $65.3 million and $51.04 million, respectively. Meanwhile, Chernobyl Diaries earned $525,000 from over 1,300 theaters at midnight.Will SmithTom CruiseJosh BrolinTommy Lee JonesOren PeliWes Anderson

Led by the awful debut of big-budget board game adaptation Battleship, three new nationwide releases tried and failed to unseat The Avengers this weekend. In fact, the blockbuster superhero team-up earned about as much in its third weekend as all three new releases combined, which is the latest sign that the movie is a true box office phenomenon. Without any real help from the openers, though, the Top 12 was down 31 percent from the same frame last year when Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened to $90.15 million.Taylor KitschJennifer LopezTim BurtonJohnny Depp

Three new nationwide releases attempt to dethrone box office sensation The Avengers this weekend, though it's unlikely any of them come very close. Battleship has the best shot at 3,690 locations, but the rampant cynicism surrounding the project should keep the movie from reaching blockbuster levels. Meanwhile, What to Expect When You're Expecting tries to reach female audiences at 3,021 theaters, while The Dictator will attempt to build on its decent $4.18 million Wednesday opening at 3,008 venues. Sacha Baron Cohen

With official grosses reporting on Monday, it's official—The Avengers has joined the fabled $1 billion worldwide box office club. The movie reached this level on its 19th day in theaters, which ties the record-breaking pace of Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (though The Avengers was only playing in the U.S. for ten of those days). It currently ranks 12th on the all-time worldwide chart with $1.000.4 billion, and by the end of next weekend it will move up to fourth place behind Avatar, Titanic and Deathly Hallows Part 2.Tim BurtonJohnny Depp

With Dark Shadows providing little in the way of competition, The Avengers had no trouble at all extending its stranglehold on the box office this weekend. Marvel's superhero team-up fell 50 percent to $103.1 million, which is by-far the best second weekend ever ahead of Avatar's $75.6 million. It also topped The Dark Knight for best second weekend hold for a movie that opened to more than $120 million. Other new records include fastest movie to $300 million and $350 million, and highest eight-day, nine-day, and ten-day grosses. Johnny DeppTim Burton

The Avengers was once again the main attraction on Friday, while Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's latest only generated mild interest.

Midnight Update: Dark Shadows scored an estimated $550,000 from midnight showings, which is about on par with John Carter and Think Like a Man from earlier this year. Those movies wound up opening to $30.2 million and $33.6 million, which now looks like a good target for Dark Shadows. Tim BurtonJohnny Depp

Tuesday Update: The Avengers earned $28.4 million on Monday to bring its overseas total to $475.8 million. Combined with its $226.3 million domestic total, Marvel's superhero team-up has so far earned over $700 million worldwide (placing it 47th on the all-time chart).

It's been clear for a while that The Avengers would be a box office success, though few people could have foreseen this opening. The superhero team-up got off to an unprecedented $207.4 million start this weekend, which obliterates the previous all-time weekend record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last Summer ($169.2 million). Jason SegelEmily Blunt

It didn't break the opening day record, but The Avengers still got off to one of the best starts ever on Friday. The movie earned $80.5 million, which is the second-highest opening day ever behind last Summer's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($91.1 million). More impressively, when you take midnight grosses out The Avengers scored $61.8 million during the day on Friday, which obliterates Spider-Man 3's previous record of $49.8 million.

It doesn't compare to the incredible midnight debuts of the last few Harry Potter and Twilight movies, but The Avengers still registered a pretty remarkable $18.7 million at midnight. That's the eighth-highest midnight opening ever, and it edges out The Dark Knight ($18.5 million) for best superhero midnight debut in history.

The 2012 Summer movie season officially gets underway this weekend with what is easily one of the biggest releases of the year. After five movies that in many ways functioned as prequel material, some of Marvel's most-popular superheroes finally team up in The Avengers, which has the seventh-widest opening ever at 4,349 locations. Thanks to these lead-in movies and a killer marketing campaign, anticipation has reached nearly-unprecedented levels, and The Avengers is a lock to score one of the highest opening weekends of all-time. Robert Downey Jr.