BOX OFFICE: 'The Avengers' Sinks Universal's 'Battleship'!

On its way to another weekend box office victory, The Avengers pulled in an estimated $55.06 million worth of business, dwarfing Battleship's first-weekend gross of $23.30 million. Battleship had been marketed as a big-budget summer tentpole, much like the Transformers movies were, so this is a huge loss for Universal.

Whew, finally worked some kind of "sink this Battleship" wordplay into an article about Battleship.

In grossing $55.06 million this weekend, The Avengers fell short of breaking the third-weekend record, with Avatar's $68.49 million mark remaining the record. The Avengers' total domestic gross now stands at $457.08 million, putting the film at No. 6 all-time. The superhero mashup should cross the $500 million mark this week, something only three other films have done.

Battleship star Taylor Kitsch now has his name attached to two flops in 2012. John Carter debuted to only $30.18 million in March.