Marvel’s The Avengers, the movie that brings Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk together, has just joined an elite group of its own. The film has become the 12th film in history to cross the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office.

After breaking the U.S. record for the biggest opening weekend with a $207 million debut, “The Avengers” also scored the highest-grossing second weekend ever with an estimated $103 million. It’s the fastest domestic release to reach the $300 million mark and although it was released in other countries first, it did not set the record for the quickest to cross $1 billion worldwide. That record is still held by the reigning champ, “Avatar,” which did it in 17 days, two days fewer than “Avengers.” And only two films have made more than $2 billion and both of them are from director James Cameron.

The other 11 members of The Billion Dollar Club.

‘Avatar,’ 2009 | $2.78 billion
(20th Century Fox)
The first of the two titles that make James Cameron the undisputed boss of the billion-dollar club, “Avatar” came out in 2009 and broke records worldwide.

‘Titanic,’ 1997 | $2.16 billion
(Paramount Pictures)
Rumored to be wildly over budget and expected to sink at the box office, Cameron’s “Titanic” turned into a juggernaut, taking top dollar and top prizes at the Oscars.

‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,’ 2011 | $1.33 billion
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
The final installment of the adventures of the boy wizard made magic.

‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon,’ 2011 | $1.12 billion
(Paramount / DreamWorks)
Audiences turned out big for the first two “Transformers” movies in 2007 and 2009, but went supernova for the third iteration in 2011.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,’ 2003 | $1.12 billion
(New Line Cinema)
Like its “Transformers” cousins, the first two installments of director Peter Jackson’s “LOTR” trilogy were enormous hits, but third time was the charm for entry into the billion-dollar box-office club. One key difference: The “LOTR” sequels, at under $100 million, cost about half what the third “Transformers” cost.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,’ 2006 | $1.07
(Walt Disney Pictures)
The second installment in producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s fabulously successful “Pirates” series beat its three brothers domestically and abroad when it came out in 2006, opening a dead man’s chest of gold for star Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski.

‘Toy Story 3,’ 2010 | $1.06 billion
(Pixar / Disney)
More than a decade passed between parts 2 and 3 of the continuing CGI adventures of Woody and Buzz, in the Pixar series started by John Lasseter in 1995. It was also the only one Lasseter didn’t direct.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,’ 2011 | $1.04 billion
(Peter Mountain / Disney)
Penelope Cruz came aboard as Capt. Jack Sparrow’s enamorata, and “Chicago” director Rob Marshall took the helm, in this fourth installment of the successful series. Critics hated it, but audiences made it the No. 3 movie of 2011 — after the releases of the year’s “Harry Potter” and “Transformers” films — and the eighth-biggest-grossing of all time.

‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,’ 1999 | $1.03 billion
(Lucasfilm)
Like “Jaws,” the 1977 original created a new template for the wide, national releases that define the modern-day blockbuster. But it was this fourth movie in the long-running series that went hyperspace.

‘Alice in Wonderland,’ 2010 | $1.02 billion
(Disney Enterprises)
Tim Burton’s 2010 retelling of the fairy tale classic makes Johnny Depp the only billion-dollar box-office club acting three-peater.

‘The Dark Knight,’ 2008 | $1 billion
(Warner Bros.)
Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine returned, and Heath Ledger (pictured) joined in, to topline this 2008 sequel to “Batman Begins.”

The Avengers Trailer:

As you can see from the first full length trailer, classic 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon ‘Top Cat’ has got a big screen makeover.

Produced by a Mexican animation house Anima Studios, it sees T.C., Benny the Ball, Fancy Fancy, Choo Choo, Spook and Brains return for a feature length adventure, where one again the gang are still at war with Police Chief Strickland.

The animation style is mixed 2D animation and CGI, and it’s already broken box-office records in Mexico. It became the highest grossing Mexican-produced film ever. So when will it be out in the US?

Foxconn chief Terry Gou let slip that his company is getting ready to start producing an Apple television.

According to China Daily, Gou today held a news conference in Shanghai about his company’s plans for the future. During that conversation, he mentioned that Foxconn is currently preparing its facilities to start producing Apple’s long-rumored television, though “development or manufacturing has yet to begin,” the China Daily report said.

Gou’s comments are notable for coming from a prominent executive who could be expected to have knowledge of Apple’s plans. The vast majority of reports surrounding the development of the television have come from unidentified sources and analysts claiming insight into Apple’s plans. For its part, Apple has stayed tight-lipped on any possibility that it might be working on a television.

Still, the rumors keep coming, and they’re suggesting, among other things, that Apple’s television could be equipped with support for the company’s virtual personal assistant Siri, a built-in camera for FaceTime, and access to the App Store.

Analysts have said for years that Apple is planning to launch a television, but it became a huge topic last year when Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson revealed that the company’s co-founder had “cracked” the code for developing a user-friendly television.

“I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,” Jobs told Isaacson. “It would be seamlessly synched with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.”

[above L to R: Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Floyd Mayweather & 50 Cent]

Floyd Mayweather took care of business last night against Miguel Cotto. Mayweather also had some extra music celebs in the corner with him like Lil Wayne, 50 Cent and Justin Bieber?

Bieber walked out with Mayweather before the fight and was even in the ring with him after the win to celebrate.

Earlier in the day, Bieber tweeted, “cinco de mayo…. #MayweatherCotto yeah @FloydMayweather today is a BIG day.”

Donations have been flooding in for the runner who tragically lost her life while taking part in the London Marathon.

The 30-year-old woman, named in reports as Claire Squires from Leicestershire, collapsed within yards of Buckingham Palace and the last turn into The Mall which marked the final stretch of the 26.2 mile race on Sunday.

Claire decided to run the marathon in the hope of raising £500 for the Samaritans and had set up a Just Giving page for people to donate.

As the news of her death spread across the internet, people poured onto her page to start donating. By 4.30pm on Monday Claire had posthumously raised over £50,000, and as the story gathered momentum over £5 per second began pouring in. An hour later, at 5.40pm, the total had topped £75,000 with almost 7,000 people having made a donation.

By 7.30pm donations had topped £120,000, and at 8.53pm in the evening the total raised surpassed £150,000.

Claire wrote on her Just Giving page: “Hi guys as you all know I am running the London marathon it was just going to be for fun but it’s a fab opportunity to raise money for my charity the Samaritans if everyone I know could donate £5.00 that would be a great help and change lives.”

Users who donated money on her page praised her efforts.

One user who gave £20 said: “My heartfelt condolences to all Claire’s family & friends. I hope those like me, who did not know her, continue to give generously in Claire’s memory.”

Another who contributed £5 commented: “What you did and have done is an inspiration that will last, our thoughts and prayers to you and your family, you have provided a light in this world.”

Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of Samaritans, said the organisation was deeply saddened at news of her death.

She said: “We are devastated following the tragic death of one of our marathon runners and are supporting the family through this very difficult time. Our thoughts are with everyone who knew her.

“We appreciate all that our marathon runners do; it is with their support, commitment and fundraising efforts that we are able to offer our vital service for people with nowhere else to turn.”

In 2011 Claire successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the Royal Air Force and raised £1,430.

If you would like to donate to Claire’s JustGiving page, you can do so by clicking HERE

Ashton Kutcher we hear is set to take on the role of a young Steve Jobs in an upcoming project.

According to Variety, the Two and a Half Men actor will play the lead in Jobs, an indie biopic that follows the late Apple founder rise to success. Although a supporting cast have yet to be announced, reports say that Swing Vote director Joshua Michael Stern will take the helm with a script by Matt Whiteley. Production is set to begin in May when Two and a Half Men with break from shooting.

What do you think of Ashton taking on such a serious role?

Funny commercial huh!? Dollar Shave Club is certainly a cool concept. Just select one their razors, pay one low monthly fee, and they’ll send them right to your door. No need to over-pay for brand name shave technology any more. So check out http://www.dollarshaveclub.com for more info.

Ayrton Senna’s remarkable story, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of SENNA, a documentary feature that spans the racing legend’s years as an F1 driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later. Far more than a film for F1 fans, SENNA unfolds a remarkable story in a remarkable manner, eschewing many standard documentary techniques in favor of a more cinematic approach that makes full use of astounding footage, much of which is drawn from F1 archives and previously unseen.

The clip below shows the BBC early evening news from Sunday May 1st 1994 breaking the news that Ayrton Senna had been killed during that days San Marino Grand Prix. The presenter is Moira Stuart.

Gospel singer BeBe Winans shares a great story at Whitney Houston’s funeral.

Zach Borst, a 26-year-old filmmaker from Long Island, N.Y., wrote, produced and assembled a one-minute ad about a graduate getting a Chevrolet Camaro as a gift for a Chevrolet competition. When you see it, you’ll realize why Chevy picked it to air in the upcoming Super Bowl to an audience of 110 million people.

Borst may be a homegrown filmmaker, but he’s been shooting video since he was seven, and has several quality commercials online. He’d also won a previous Chevrolet competition at the Tribeca film festival; knowing what the client wants does usually help in advertising. For the “Happy Grad” ad, Borst used friends for actors, camera help and locations.

“Happy Grad” — filmed by Borst and company in four hours — beat out 198 other video submissions and 400 scripts in the contest. To air, Chevy will spend at least $3.5 million for 30 seconds of air time.

A compilation of the most awesome bicycle, snowboard, ski, snowmobile, parkour, diving, rallycar and skate sports clips of 2011.