Hulk Smash... box-office records. It is official. In just three days, Marvel Studios' The Avengers has totally obliterated the all-time domestic weekend records set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Just what could be the combined might of Earth's mightiest heroes at the box-office? While there isn't any doubt that Marvel Studios' superhero all-star film, The Avengers, is going to be a smash hit at the box-office, its runaway success both in financially and critically is now officially going down in the history books.

Based on records from 4,349 locations, The Avengers scored the biggest domestic opening weekend of all time with an estimated $200.3 million, breaking the (nevertheless, still incredible) records of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, who is the previous record-holder with $169 million.

Released earlier internationally, the film has already amassed an awe-inspiring $641.8 million in twelve days with major markets such as Japan yet to be screened, according to Disney. Meanwhile, the film's Friday opening saw it becoming the second highest single day take of all time with $80.5 million while its estimated Saturday sales of $69.7 million is the highest Saturday gross of all time.

After the box-office shake-up we had this year, the following is the latest standing:

1. The Avengers: $200.3
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: $169.1
3. The Dark Knight: $158.4
4. The Hunger Games: $152.5
5. Spider-Man 3: $151.1

While the initial estimates speculated that the film would be earning anywhere between $165 and $175, it has incredibly rise above all expectations with the strong showing. And we believe the instrumental factor behind the success would have to be the tremendous word-of-mouth going around globally as we speak throughout the weekend.

For those interested in how the previous five Marvel Studios films performed during its opening weekend and its eventual overall results, check out the following courtesy of Collider:

Iron Man (2008) – $98.6 mil. debut; $318.4 domestic/$585.1 worldwide
Iron Man 2 (2010) – $128.1 mil. debut; $312.4 domestic/$623.9 worldwide
The Incredible Hulk (2008) – $55.4 mil debut; $134.8 domestic/$263.4 world
Thor (2011) – $65.7 mil. debut; $181 domestic/$449.3 worldwide
Captain America (2011) – $65 mil. opening; $176.6 domestic/$368.6 worldwide

So it certainly seems like the wild gamble that Marvel took on paid off big time after all. While there is no doubt that the price premiums behind the 3D and IMAX tickets pushed sales even further, the film has already gathered an incredible reception from the fans with a 93% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and a rare A+ grade from CinemaScore.

Next up as the Summer of blockbusters continue, we have Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's Dark Shadows opening this weekend to take the competition to The Avengers. However, we have a feeling that the challenge might just be the most feeble one both Burton and the rejuvenated Depp had ever fielded before during the Summer blockbusters war. We will only have to wait till The Dark Knight Rises to have a better picture of how the box-office war will eventually turned out. As the concluding chapter of a critically acclaimed and a certified extraordinary blockbuster franchise, The Dark Knight Rises is the only film capable of bringing the game to Marvel's The Avengers. One lone Dark Knight against the Avengers Assembled (not to mentioned the upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man" right around the corner. It's funny how this year's box-office war is truly an epic battle fought by Comics' Big Two publisher, DC Comics and Marvel.

Source: Collider