'Avengers' scores 2nd-best opening day in U.S. history as it takes in 80m dollars

Washington, May 6 (ANI): 'The Avengers' raked in 80.5 million dollars in its domestic debut Friday, the second-best haul ever on its opening day.

The film featuring a team of Marvel Comics heroes trails only last year's " Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : Part 2," which took in 91.1 million dollars in its first day on the way to a record weekend of 169.2 million dollars.

The huge opening for "The Avengers" launches what's expected to be a colossal summer for Hollywood, whose domestic revenues already were running 14 percent ahead of last year's going into the weekend, CBS News reported.

Produced by Disney's Marvel Studios unit, "The Avengers" already is over halfway towards beating the opening weekends of the second and third films on the debut charts.

At No. 2 is "The Dark Knight" with 158.4 million dollars in its first three days, while this spring's blockbuster "The Hunger Games" is No. 3 with 152.5 million dollars.

"The Avengers" opened a week earlier in a number of overseas markets, where it has pulled in blockbuster cash in a matter of days.

The film added 30.3 million dollars internationally on Friday, bringing its overseas haul to 334.3 million dollars. Adding in its first-day domestic receipts, "The Avengers" has scaled to a worldwide total of 414.8 million dollars. (ANI)