BLOCKBUSTERS like The Avengers (2012) are sought after despite large budgets—because they can potentially bring in twice their cost in box office sales, DVD and Blu-ray discs, merchandising, and, studios hope, sequels that generate more of the same. The Avengers, an all-star teaming of Marvel superheroes who had previously starred in their own blockbusters, set a new opening weekend record ($207.4 million) before going on to gross over $620 million in the United States and over $1.5 billion worldwide.