The Avengers

Directed by :    Joss Whedon
Produced by :   Kevin Feige
Screenplay by :    Joss Whedon
    
 Story by :           Zak Penn
                          Joss Whedon

Based on The Avengers by :
Stan Lee
Jack Kirby
Starring    


    Robert Downey, Jr.
    Chris Evans
    Mark Ruffalo
    Chris Hemsworth
    Scarlett Johansson
    Jeremy Renner
    Tom Hiddleston
    Samuel L. Jackson
    Cobie Smulders

Music by   :  Alan Silvestri
Cinematography :    Seamus McGarvey
Editing by   : 

    Jeffrey Ford
    Lisa Lassek

Studio  :   Marvel Studios
Distributed by  :   Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date(s) :   

    April 11, 2012 (world premiere)
    May 4, 2012 (United States)

Running time   :  143 minutes
Country  :   United States
Language  :   English
Budget  :   $220 million
Box office :    $304 million


The Avengers (classified in the UK and Ireland under the title Marvel Avengers Assemble) is a 2012 American epic superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures,1 based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was scripted and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, and Cobie Smulders. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to form a team that must stop Thor's brother Loki from enslaving the human race.

Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in August and New York City in September. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.

The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California and has since received generally favorable reviews from film critics and grossed over $300 million worldwide.