How huge is The Avengers?
The comic-book event has now grossed more money than all but our moviegoing nation's biggest box-office hits of the year—and, as you may have noticed, it hasn't opened here yet.
A look at the The Avengers' fast and furious international start:
Since opening in some countries on Wednesday, the team-up flick has grossed a combined $178.4 million through Sunday, its studio estimated.
If that take were a domestic total, it'd place The Avengers between Dr. Seuss' The Lorax and 21 Jump Street for third place among 2012's biggest moneymakers.
As an international take, it's more than Battleship grossed in in its first two weeks overseas, and it's not that far off from the international total of what was the year's biggest box-office star: The Hunger Games.
The Avengers set all-time weekend records everywhere from Argentina to New Zealand. Its biggest overall haul came from the United Kingdom, where the film stood at $24.7 million so far.
More big money presumably is to come. The film has yet to open in the monster markets of China, Japan and Russia.
Oh, and, yes, the film hasn't been released here yet, either.
Not that U.S.-based fans are watching their clocks…