Weekend Box Office Update: Avengers @ Midnight

The first statesside box-office numbers are in for Joss Whedon's The Avengers --The superhero team up pic made $18.7 million at midnight screenings in theatres all across North America says the WSJ.

That is about even with the $18.5 million that “The Dark Knight" took in for midnight runs in 2008.

TDK went on to gross $158.4 million during its opening weekend in the U.S., a number "The Avengers" is expected to match and may even beat.

It's a midnight number that's bigger than any other Marvel movie to date but it's not a record breaker.

"The Hunger Games" took in $19.7 million back in March, and the current all time record holder is  "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"  which made $43.5 million for its midnight bow.

After a week in release overseas, 'Avengers' has already crossed the $300 million mark and will likely pass half a billion dollars globally sometime on Sunday.