The shield prevailed against magic as “Captain America: The First Avenger” emerged as top grosser for this week’s box office race raking in $65.8 million on its opening weekend. The Marvel Comics superhero is a prelude to next summer’s “The Avengers.”

“Captain America” is the fifth superhero movie shown for the summer and the third box office top grosser for Marvel Entertainment after “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class.” Collectively, the three movies delivered almost $400 million domestically and $450 million internationally assuring the studio of earning over one billion dollars this summer.

According to Don Harris, Head of Distribution for Paramount, said “Captain America” exceeded expectations. He expected the movie to be in the range similar to “X-Men: First Class” which earned $55.1 million in June.

The movie got a 73 percent positive review from Rotten Tomatoes. The showing of Captain America also coincided with Comic-Con which could have contributed to the box office result. “Captain America: First Avenger” also opened in Italy earning $2.8 million. It opens in 23 international markets this coming weekend.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” dropped to second place making just $48 million on its second weekend upping its domestic total to $274.1 million. It dropped 72 percent after earning a record $169.2 million on its opening week. But Warner Bros. expected this to happen as the movie is front-loaded when it comes to audience turn-out. Besides, it has already made $43 million on its opening midnight showing alone.
Sony Screen Gems’ “Friends With Benefits” debuted at number three in the box office. The romantic comedy starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis raked in $18.5 million.

One-time box office top grosser “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” was at number four with $12 million to increase its domestic run to $325.8 million. It became Paramount’s highest grossing movie breaching the half-billion-dollar mark with $62 million from 60 international markets. It has now made $556.6 million worldwide.

Here are last week’s top ten movies based on Hollywood.com ticket sales:

1. “Captain America: The First Avenger,” $65.8 million ($2.8 million international).
2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” $48 million ($121.3 million international).
3. “Friends With Benefits,” $18.5 million.
4. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” $12 million ($62 million international).
5. “Horrible Bosses,” $11.7 million.
6. “Zookeeper,” $8.7 million.
7. “Cars 2,” $5.7 million ($17.7 million international).
8. “Winnie the Pooh,” $5.1 million.
9. “Bad Teacher,” $2.6 million.
10. “Midnight in Paris,” $1.9 million.
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