Thought last weekend, when the comedy Think Like A Man took first place from the heavily-favored The Lucky One, was a surprise? Then check out this weekend’s estimates. Not only has Think Like A Man defied all expectations by holding the top spot for a second week; it did so by beating the heavily-favored rom-com The Five-Year Engagement from super-producer Judd Apatow. Could it be that post-racial America has finally arrived? Or is everyone just saving their money to see The Avengers? You be the judge.

This weekend, the Sony/Screen Gems comedy Think Like A Man earned an estimated $18 million in just 2,015 locations – fewer venues than any other film in the top ten aside from DisneyNature’s Chimpanzee. So, no one can diminish the success of this film based solely on the fact that it won on an otherwise deadly slow weekend.

In ten days Think Like A Man has earned $60.8 million and was down just 46% from last weekend.  Incidentally, this is the first time since Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, from February 2009, that an African-American comedy has spent two weeks at number one. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion (2006) and Barber Shop (2002) were also two-time box office champs; but, outside of the straight-comedy or men-dressed-like-women genres, however, the stats are a little harder to track…

One week ago it looked like The Five-Year Engagement would grab this morning’s lead. The romantic-comedy was projected to open between $15 and $20 million – in the range of co-writer/star Jason Segel’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall from 2006.  Instead, it made a disappointing $11.1 million from 2,936 locations. Word is that the film wasn’t too pricey, however, which is about the best Universal can boast this morning.

After opening in fifth on Friday, Aardman Animation’s Pirates! Band of Misfits edged out The Lucky One to grab second place for the weekend.  With an estimated $11.4 million from 3,358 locations, the PG-rated feature from the team that brought you Arthur Christmas and Flushed Away probably won’t leave much of an impression here in the states.  Overseas, however, Pirates! has already earned a more-encouraging $56 million.

If I haven’t been able to drum up much enthusiasm for The Five-Year Engagement and Pirates! Band of Misfits - the two new releases that actually made it into this weekend’s top five – the potential to lavish praise on the two that missed that mark are exceedingly slim.

Safe, the latest action movie from Jason Statham, earned an estimated $7.7 million from 2,266 locations.  That is not a low for the action hero, whose 2008 In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale saw a lifetime gross of $4.7 million. But with The Avengers coming on fast, it seems like Safe will have to rely on international earnings to make back its reported $30 million budget.

Bringing up the rear (in terms of new releases) is the Relativity release The Raven. The period drama, starring John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe, earned just $7.2 million from 2,203 locations. Relativity acquired the feature (with a reported $26 million budget) from Intrepid films, so it’s probable that their exposure here is low.  Still, no one wants to put “Come See America’s Seventh-favorite Film” on the side of a bus.

There was almost no chance that this weekend would top 2011, when Fast Five broke big - but who cares?  We are ALL about The Avengers starting… now! So, will the summer’s first blockbuster break records?  Will it make The Hunger Games look like, um, The Five-Year Engagement? If you recall, $152.5 million is the number The Avengers has to top to starve-out The Hunger Games. The latter now ranks 17th on the all-time domestic chart and third for opening weekends. Think The Avengers can do better? Assemble opinions below.