'Avengers' overshadows Johnny Depp

"The Avengers" mounted its first defense of the box office, flicking off "Dark Shadows" as if it were a puny human.

The comic-book adaptation thundered to another record, capturing $103.2 million and an easy first place, according to studio estimates from box office tracking firm Hollywood.com.

"The Avengers' " haul marked the highest second weekend of all time, an encore to its record-breaking debut of $207.4 million a week ago. The film, which has done $373.2 million domestically and $628.9 million overseas, crossed the $1 billion mark in 10 days.

Gitesh Pandya of Boxofficeguru.com said "The Avengers" has turned moviegoing into "a marketplace utterly dominated by superheroes."

"Given the choice, moviegoers driven by buzz and hype (opted) for 'Iron Man' and company," Pandya said.

That left little chance for Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, who teamed for their eighth film, this time the television adaptation "Dark Shadows," which did $28.8 million. While Shadows met the lower end of analysts' expectations, the movie was doomed months ago, Pandya said.

He says that distributor Warner Bros. underestimated "The Avengers' " legs. Competition was "much stronger than the studio anticipated when it programmed Shadows," Pandya said.

Critics and fans were lukewarm on the black comedy. About 42 percent of critics liked the movie, compared to 63 percent of audiences, said pollsters Rottentomatoes.com.

The comedy "Think Like a Man" was third with $6.3 million, followed by "The Hunger Games" with $4.4 million. The romance "The Lucky One" rounded out the Top 5 with $4.1 million.

Final figures are due Monday.

"The Avengers" kept Hollywood's ticket sales robust. Revenues are up 18 percent over the same time last year, while attendance is up 20 percent, Hollywood.com said.