Marvel’s The Avengers became just the 12th movie in history to join the $1 billion club after another huge weekend at the box office, and I like to think that it was my $8.50 matinee that pushed Nick Fury and Co. over the top. And estimates suggest that by the end of the upcoming weekend, Avengers could be the 4th highest grossing movie of all-time, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt. 2, Titanic and Avatar. Then Joss Whedon will finally be able to afford that giant hat.

But for every dollar that this film earns, The Avengers’ resident billionaire, Tony Stark, gets a little wealthier. After the first Iron Man film’s success, Robert Downey, Jr. and his team of super financial experts worked a new deal with Marvel that has him pulling an estimated $50 million for The Avengers. At that point, I assume you just actually become Iron Man.

So are the other actors breaking the bank as well? Sure, but it’s a much, much smaller bank.

As Marvel launched other hero pics that would lead up to Avengers, the studio struck hard bargains. Two sources say Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner andMark Ruffalo all signed on for small upfront fees and ultimately will make about $2 million to $3 million on Avengers with bonuses. Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson, who signed deals to pop up in several Marvel movies, are said to be making about twice that for Avengers with bonuses. (Via the Hollywood Reporter)

You’ve probably already read Vince’s favorable review of The Avengers (unless you skimmed it and just chose to think he hated it) but I actually wanted to offer my comic book enthusiast thoughts on the film after the jump (mild spoiler possibly).

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After the jump, I’ve got the newest trailer for Sherlock Holmes 2, which– hey, notice how none of us even bat an eye when typing that phrase? “Sherlock Holmes 2.” And I’ll bet sixpence and bowler hat we’ll eventually see “Sherlock Holmes 3D.” Anyway, the official title is Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, and the whole crew is back — director Guy Ritchie, Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel “Angel Ass” McAdams, along with new additions Jared Harris (as Professor Moriarty) and Stephen Fry (as Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft). The latest installment promises all the gunplay and slow-motion explosions you remember from the 19th century novels, plus, my new favorite character, “Reaction Shot Bulldog,” who often witness the action and barks charmingly. I happen to think French bulldogs are slightly cuter, though I prefer to call them “Freedom Bulldogs.”

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The first trailer for The Avengers is here and you know it’s a big deal because iTunes finally offered an embeddable video player (seriously, we’ve been waiting for this for like four years). Marvel’s great experiment in turning over their biggest project to Joss Whedon, a guy known mainly for cult shows that get cancelled before the mainstream ever sees them, stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Mark “Ruffalo Bill” Ruffalo. I’ve never actually seen a Joss Whedon show, so this is particularly exciting for me.

First impressions: It looks like Loki from Thor is the villain, which is… odd. And the lighting looks really bright and even in every scene, like they’re shooting a superhero sitcom.

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Entertainment Weekly put The Avengers on the cover of their latest issue and released some official pictures of the cast in costume. They’re mostly pretty boring and not nearly as entertaining as any of Chris Evans’ facial expressions from the last batch of spy pics, but the one point of interest seems to be Mark Ruffalo’s musky, lascivious portrayal of Bruce Banner. Most people are calling it blue steel, and such and such, and talking about how Mark Ruffalo is really, really, like, ridiculously sultry looking. But I get what he’s going for. That’s just his science face.

Science me. Science me raw.

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After the jump, you can watch Robert Downey Jr. smoke pipes, solve crimes, crack wise, and generally chew scenery in the new trailer for Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (seriously, can we just put a f*cking “2″ after these things? you’re not fooling anyone.). Whereas I think you’d have to be genuinely retarded to still want to see Johnny Depp mince about in eyeliner and wink at the camera in a Pirates movie (not that I don’t still love Johnny Depp despite it), watching Robert Downey Jr. act cute and witty still seems fresh. Well, not fresh, maybe, but eminently watchable. It probably has a lot to do with Jerry Bruckheimer not being involved in this. That assh*le ruins everything.

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