title: The New York Times

text: On June 26, 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take both cases, merging them into "New York Times Co. v. United States". On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court held in a 6–3 decision that the injunctions were unconstitutional prior restraints and that the government had not met the burden of proof required. The justices wrote nine separate opinions, disagreeing on significant substantive issues. While it was generally seen as a victory for those who claim the First Amendment enshrines an absolute right to free speech, many felt it a lukewarm victory, offering little protection for future publishers when claims of national security were at stake.


title: The New York Times

text: In the 1970s, the paper introduced a number of new lifestyle sections, including Weekend and Home, with the aim of attracting more advertisers and readers. Many criticized the move for betraying the paper's mission. On September 7, 1976, the paper switched from an eight-column format to a six-column format. The overall page width stayed the same, with each column becoming wider. On September 14, 1987, the "Times" printed the heaviest-ever newspaper, at over and 1,612 pages.


title: The New York Times

text: In 1992, "Punch" Sulzberger stepped down as publisher; his son, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., succeeded him, first as publisher and then as chairman of the board in 1997. The "Times" was one of the last newspapers to adopt color photography, with the first color photograph on the front page appearing on October 16, 1997.


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" switched to a digital production process sometime before 1980, but only began preserving the resulting digital text that year. In 1983, the "Times" sold the electronic rights to its articles to LexisNexis. As the online distribution of news increased in the 1990s, the "Times" decided not to renew the deal and in 1994 the newspaper regained electronic rights to its articles. On January 22, 1996, NYTimes.com began publishing.


title: The New York Times

text: In August 2007, the paper reduced the physical size of its print edition, cutting the page width from to a . This followed similar moves by a roster of other newspapers in the previous ten years, including "USA Today", "The Wall Street Journal", and "The Washington Post". The move resulted in a 5% reduction in news space, but (in an era of dwindling circulation and significant advertising revenue losses) also saved about $12 million a year.


title: The New York Times

text: In September 2008, "The New York Times" announced that it would be combining certain sections effective October 6, 2008, in editions printed in the New York metropolitan area. The changes folded the Metro Section into the main International / National news section and combined Sports and Business (except Saturday through Monday, while Sports continues to be printed as a standalone section). This change also included having the Metro section called New York outside of the Tri-State Area. The presses used by "The New York Times" can allow four sections to be printed simultaneously; as the paper includes more than four sections on all days except for Saturday, the sections were required to be printed separately in an early press run and collated together. The changes allowed "The New York Times" to print in four sections Monday through Wednesday, in addition to Saturday. "The New York Times" announcement stated that the number of news pages and employee positions would remain unchanged, with the paper realizing cost savings by cutting overtime expenses.


title: The New York Times

text: Because of its declining sales largely attributed to the rise of online news sources, favored especially by younger readers, and the decline of advertising revenue, the newspaper had been going through a downsizing for several years, offering buyouts to workers and cutting expenses, in common with a general trend among print news media. Following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2009, the newspaper began production of local inserts in regions outside of the New York area. Beginning October 16, 2009, a two-page "Bay Area" insert was added to copies of the Northern California edition on Fridays and Sundays. The newspaper commenced production of a similar Friday and Sunday insert to the Chicago edition on November 20, 2009. The inserts consist of local news, policy, sports, and culture pieces, usually supported by local advertisements.


title: The New York Times

text: In December 2012, the "Times" published "Snow Fall", a six-part article about the 2012 Tunnel Creek avalanche which integrated videos, photos, and interactive graphics and was hailed as a watershed moment for online journalism.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2013, "How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk," an interactive quiz created by intern Josh Katz, based on the Harvard Dialect Survey, which collected responses of more than 50,000 people answering 122 questions about the way they said different things across the United States became the "Times" most popular piece of content of the year.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2016, reporters for the newspaper were reportedly the target of cybersecurity breaches. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was reportedly investigating the attacks. The cybersecurity breaches have been described as possibly being related to cyberattacks that targeted other institutions, such as the Democratic National Committee.


title: The New York Times

text: During the 2016 presidential election, the "Times" played an important role in elevating the Hillary Clinton emails controversy into the most important subject of media coverage in the election which Clinton would lose narrowly to Donald Trump. The controversy received more media coverage than any other topic during the presidential campaign. Clinton and other observers argue that coverage of the emails controversy contributed to her loss in the election. According to a Columbia Journalism Review analysis, ""in just six days," The New York Times "ran as many cover stories about Hillary Clinton's emails as they did about all policy issues combined in the 69 days leading up to the election" (and that does not include the three additional articles on October 18, and November 6 and 7, or the two articles on the emails taken from John Podesta)."


title: The New York Times

text: In October 2018, the "Times" published a 14,218-word investigation into Donald Trump's "self-made" fortune and tax avoidance, an 18-month project based on examination of 100,000 pages of documents. The extensive article ran as an eight-page feature in the print edition and also was adapted into a shortened 2,500 word listicle featuring its key takeaways. After the midweek front-page story, the "Times" also republished the piece as a 12-page "special report" section in the Sunday paper. During the lengthy investigation, Showtime cameras followed the "Times" three investigative reporters for a half-hour documentary called "The Family Business: Trump and Taxes", which aired the following Sunday. The report won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.


title: The New York Times

text: In May 2019, "The New York Times" announced that it would present a television news program based on news from its individual reporters stationed around the world and that it would premiere on FX and Hulu.


title: The New York Times

text: In August 2021, the paper announced an effort to make 18 newsletters available only to subscribers, even though some of the most popular ones would remain free. Part of this was in response to competition from Substack.


title: The New York Times

text: In January 2022, the New York Times Company announced that it would acquire "The Athletic", a subscription-based sports news website. The $550 million deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, and "The Athletic"'s co-founders, Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, would stay with the publication, which would continue to be run separately from the "Times". Recode/Vox reported that this acquisition was part of an effort for the paper to get a younger, more diverse readership, as were offerings like games, cooking, and audio. The same month, the paper announced it was acquiring Wordle, a relatively new game that became popular rather quickly and that would remain free "initially."


title: The New York Times

text: In April 2022, "The New York Times" published a three-part 20,000-word investigative series on Fox News host Tucker Carlson called "American Nationalist". The investigative series documents Carlson's rise to prominence and his rhetoric on immigration, race relations and the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="Confessore1_4/30/2022"></ref><ref name="Confessore2_4/30/2022"></ref><ref name="Confessore3_4/30/2022"></ref> Carlson responded by saying that he has not read "American Nationalist" and does not plan to. He also denied allegations from the "Times" about obsessing over ratings, saying that "I've never read the ratings a single day in my life. I don't even know how. Ask anyone at Fox." and that "Most of the big positions I've taken in the past five years — against the neocons, the vax and the war [in Ukraine] — have been very unpopular with our audience at first."


title: The New York Times

text: In December 2022, over 1,000 "New York Times" staffers staged a strike for the first time in over 40 years.


title: The New York Times

text: The newspaper's first building was located at 113 Nassau Street in New York City. In 1854, it moved to 138 Nassau Street, and in 1858 to 41 Park Row, making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use.


title: The New York Times

text: The newspaper moved its headquarters to the Times Tower, located at 1475 Broadway in 1904, in an area then called Longacre Square, that was later renamed Times Square in the newspaper's honor. The top of the building — now known as One Times Square — is the site of the New Year's Eve tradition of lowering a lighted ball, which was begun by the paper. The building is also known for its electronic news ticker — popularly known as "The Zipper" — where headlines crawl around the outside of the building. It is still in use, but has been operated by Dow Jones & Company since 1995. After nine years in its Times Square tower, the newspaper had an annex built at 229 West 43rd Street. After several expansions, the 43rd Street building became the newspaper's main headquarters in 1960 and the Times Tower on Broadway was sold the following year. It served as the newspaper's main printing plant until 1997, when the newspaper opened a state-of-the-art printing plant in the College Point section of Queens.


title: The New York Times

text: A decade later, "The New York Times" moved its newsroom and businesses headquarters from West 43rd Street to a new tower at 620 Eighth Avenue between West 40th and 41st Streets, in Manhattan, directly across Eighth Avenue from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The new headquarters for the newspaper, known officially as The New York Times Building but unofficially called the new "Times Tower" by many New Yorkers, is a skyscraper designed by Renzo Piano.


title: The New York Times

text: Discriminatory practices used by the paper long restricted women in appointments to editorial positions. The newspaper's first general female reporter was Jane Grant, who described her experience afterward: "In the beginning I was charged not to reveal the fact that a female had been hired". Other reporters nicknamed her Fluff and she was subjected to considerable hazing. Because of her gender, any promotion was out of the question, according to the then-managing editor. She remained on the staff for fifteen years, interrupted by World War I.


title: The New York Times

text: In 1935, Anne McCormick wrote to Arthur Hays Sulzberger: "I hope you won't expect me to revert to 'woman's-point-of-view' stuff." Later, she interviewed major political leaders and appears to have had easier access than her colleagues. Even witnesses of her actions were unable to explain how she gained the interviews she did. Clifton Daniel said, "[After World War II,] I'm sure Adenauer called her up and invited her to lunch. She never had to grovel for an appointment."


title: The New York Times

text: Covering world leaders' speeches after World War II at the National Press Club was limited to men by a club rule. When women were eventually allowed to hear the speeches directly, they were still not allowed to ask the speakers questions. Men were allowed and did ask, even though some of the women had won Pulitzer Prizes for prior work. "Times" reporter Maggie Hunter refused to return to the club after covering one speech on assignment. Nan Robertson's article on the Union Stock Yards, Chicago, was read aloud as anonymous by a professor, who then said: "'It will come as a surprise to you, perhaps, that the reporter is a "girl," he began... [G]asps; amazement in the ranks. 'She had used all her senses, not just her eyes, to convey the smell and feel of the stockyards. She chose a difficult subject, an offensive subject. Her imagery was strong enough to revolt you.'" "The New York Times" hired Kathleen McLaughlin after ten years at the "Chicago Tribune", where "[s]he did a series on maids, going out herself to apply for housekeeping jobs."


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" has had one slogan. Since 1896, the newspaper's slogan has been "All the News That's Fit to Print." In 1896, Adolph Ochs held a competition to attempt to find a replacement slogan, offering a $100 prize for the best one. Though he later announced that the original would not be changed, the prize would still be awarded. Entries included "News, Not Nausea"; "In One Word: Adequate"; "News Without Noise"; "Out Heralds "The Herald", Informs "The World", and Extinguishes "The Sun""; "The Public Press is a Public Trust"; and the winner of the competition, "All the world's news, but not a school for scandal." On May 10, 1960, Wright Patman asked the FTC to investigate whether "The New York Times's" slogan was misleading or false advertising. Within 10 days, the FTC responded that it was not.


title: The New York Times

text: Again in 1996, a competition was held to find a new slogan, this time for NYTimes.com. Over 8,000 entries were submitted, with "All the News That's Fit to Print" found to be the best.


title: The New York Times

text: In addition to its New York City headquarters, the paper has newsrooms in London and Hong Kong. Its Paris newsroom, which had been the headquarters of the paper's international edition, was closed in 2016, although the city remains home to a news bureau and an advertising office. The paper also has an editing and wire service center in Gainesville, Florida.


title: The New York Times

text: , the newspaper had six news bureaus in the New York region, 14 elsewhere in the United States, and 24 in other countries.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2009, Russ Stanton, editor of the "Los Angeles Times", a competitor, stated that the newsroom of "The New York Times" was twice the size of the "Los Angeles Times", which had a newsroom of 600 at the time.


title: The New York Times

text: To facilitate their reporting and to hasten an otherwise lengthy process of reviewing many documents during preparation for publication, their interactive news team has adapted optical character recognition technology into a proprietary tool known as "Document Helper". It enables the team to accelerate the processing of documents that need to be reviewed. During March 2019, they documented that this tool enabled them to process 900 documents in less than ten minutes in preparation for reporters to review the contents.


title: The New York Times

text: The newspaper's editorial staff, including over 3,000 reporters and media staff, are unionized with NewsGuild. In 2021, the "Times" digital technology staff formed a union with NewsGuild, which the company declined to voluntarily recognize.


title: The New York Times

text: In 1896, Adolph Ochs bought "The New York Times", a money-losing newspaper, and formed the New York Times Company. The Ochs-Sulzberger family, one of the United States' newspaper dynasties, has owned "The New York Times" ever since. The publisher went public on January 14, 1969, trading at $42 a share on the American Stock Exchange. After this, the family continued to exert control through its ownership of the vast majority of Class B voting shares. Class A shareholders are permitted restrictive voting rights, while Class B shareholders are allowed open voting rights.


title: The New York Times

text: The Ochs-Sulzberger family trust controls roughly 88 percent of the company's class B shares. Any alteration to the dual-class structure must be ratified by six of eight directors who sit on the board of the Ochs-Sulzberger family trust. The trust board members are Daniel H. Cohen, James M. Cohen, Lynn G. Dolnick, Susan W. Dryfoos, Michael Golden, Eric M. A. Lax, Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., and Cathy J. Sulzberger.


title: The New York Times

text: Turner Catledge, the top editor at "The New York Times" from 1952 to 1968, wanted to hide the ownership influence. Arthur Sulzberger routinely wrote memos to his editor, each containing suggestions, instructions, complaints, and orders. When Catledge would receive these memos, he would erase the publisher's identity before passing them to his subordinates. Catledge thought that if he removed the publisher's name from the memos, it would protect reporters from feeling pressured by the owner.


title: The New York Times

text: The position of public editor was established in 2003 to "investigate matters of journalistic integrity"; each public editor was to serve a two-year term. The post "was established to receive reader complaints and question "Times" journalists on how they make decisions." The impetus for the creation of the public editor position was the Jayson Blair affair. Public editors were: Daniel Okrent (2003–2005), Byron Calame (2005–2007), Clark Hoyt (2007–2010) (served an extra year), Arthur S. Brisbane (2010–2012), Margaret Sullivan (2012–2016) (served a four-year term), and Elizabeth Spayd (2016–2017). In 2017, the "Times" eliminated the position of public editor.


title: The New York Times

text: The editorial pages of "The New York Times" are typically liberal in their position. In mid-2004, the newspaper's then public editor (ombudsman), Daniel Okrent, wrote that "the Op-Ed page editors do an evenhanded job of representing a range of views in the essays from outsiders they publish – but you need an awfully heavy counterweight to balance a page that also bears the work of seven opinionated columnists, only two of whom could be classified as conservative (and, even then, of the conservative subspecies that supports legalization of gay unions and, in the case of William Safire, opposes some central provisions of the Patriot Act)."


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" has not endorsed a Republican Party member for president since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956; since 1960, it has endorsed the Democratic Party nominee in every presidential election (see New York Times presidential endorsements). "The New York Times" did endorse incumbent moderate Republican mayors of New York City Rudy Giuliani in 1997, and Michael Bloomberg in 2005 and 2009. The "Times" also endorsed Republican New York state governor George Pataki for re-election in 2002.


title: The New York Times

text: Unlike most U.S. daily newspapers, the "Times" relies on its own in-house stylebook rather than The Associated Press Stylebook. When referring to people, "The New York Times" generally uses honorifics rather than unadorned last names (except in the sports pages, pop culture coverage, and the Book Review and Magazine).


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" printed a display advertisement on its first page on January 6, 2009, breaking tradition at the paper. The advertisement, for CBS, was in color and ran the entire width of the page. The newspaper promised it would place first-page advertisements on only the lower half of the page.


title: The New York Times

text: In August 2014, the "Times" decided to use the word "torture" to describe incidents in which interrogators "inflicted pain on a prisoner in an effort to get information." This was a shift from the paper's previous practice of describing such practices as "harsh" or "brutal" interrogations.


title: The New York Times

text: The paper maintains a strict profanity policy. A 2007 review of a concert by the punk band Fucked Up, for example, completely avoided mention of the group's name. The "Times" has on occasion published unfiltered video content that includes profanity and slurs where it has determined that such video has news value. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, the "Times" did print the words "fuck" and "pussy," among others, when reporting on the vulgar statements made by Donald Trump in a 2005 recording. Then-"Times" politics editor Carolyn Ryan said: "It's a rare thing for us to use this language in our stories, even in quotes, and we discussed it at length." Ryan said the paper ultimately decided to publish it because of its news value and because "[t]o leave it out or simply describe it seemed awkward and less than forthright to us, especially given that we would be running a video that showed our readers exactly what was said."


title: The New York Times

text: In the absence of a major headline, the day's most important story generally appears in the top-right column, on the main page. The typefaces used for the headlines are custom variations of Cheltenham. The running text is set at 8.7 point Imperial.


title: The New York Times

text: Some sections, such as Metro, are only found in the editions of the paper distributed in the New York–New Jersey–Connecticut Tri-state area and not in the national or Washington, D.C., editions. Aside from a weekly roundup of reprints of editorial cartoons from other newspapers, "The New York Times" does not have its own staff editorial cartoonist, nor does it feature a comics page or Sunday comics section.


title: The New York Times

text: From 1851 to 2017, "The New York Times" published around 60,000 print issues containing about 3.5 million pages and 15 million articles.


title: The New York Times

text: Like most other American newspapers, "The New York Times" has experienced a decline in circulation. Its printed weekday circulation dropped by percent to 540,000 copies from 2005 to 2017.


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times International Edition" is a print version of the paper tailored for readers outside the United States. Formerly a joint venture with "The Washington Post" named The International Herald Tribune, "The New York Times" took full ownership of the paper in 2002 and has gradually integrated it more closely into its domestic operations.


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" began publishing daily on the World Wide Web on January 22, 1996, "offering readers around the world immediate access to most of the daily newspaper's contents." The website had 555 million pageviews and 15 million unique visitors in March 2005. By March 2020, this had risen to 2.5 billion pageviews and 240 million unique visitors.


title: The New York Times

text: As of August 2020, the company had 6.5 million paid subscribers, out of which 5.7 million were subscribed to its digital content. In the period April–June 2020, it added 669,000 new digital subscribers.


title: The New York Times

text: The food section is supplemented on the web by properties for home cooks and for out-of-home dining. "The New York Times" Cooking (cooking.nytimes.com; also available via iOS app) provides access to more than 17,000 recipes on file , and availability of saving recipes from other sites around the web. The newspaper's restaurant search (nytimes.com/reviews/dining) allows online readers to search NYC area restaurants by cuisine, neighborhood, price, and reviewer rating. "The New York Times" has also published several cookbooks, including "The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century", published in late 2010.


title: The New York Times

text: In September 2005, the paper decided to begin subscription-based service for daily columns in a program known as "TimesSelect", which encompassed many previously free columns. Until being discontinued two years later, "TimesSelect" cost $7.95 per month or $49.95 per year, though it was free for print copy subscribers and university students and faculty. To avoid this charge, bloggers often reposted TimesSelect material, and at least one site once compiled links of reprinted material.


title: The New York Times

text: On September 17, 2007, "The New York Times" announced that it would stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight the following day, reflecting a growing view in the industry that subscription fees cannot outweigh the potential ad revenue from increased traffic on a free site.


title: The New York Times

text: "Times" columnists including Nicholas Kristof and Thomas Friedman had criticized "TimesSelect", with Friedman going so far as to say "I hate it. It pains me enormously because it's cut me off from a lot, a lot of people, especially because I have a lot of people reading me overseas, like in India ... I feel totally cut off from my audience."


title: The New York Times

text: In 2007, in addition to opening almost the entire site to all readers, "The New York Times" news archives from 1987 to the present were made available at no charge to non-subscribers, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain.


title: The New York Times

text: Falling print advertising revenue and projections of continued decline resulted in a "metered paywall" being instituted in March 2011, limiting non-subscribers to a monthly allotment of 20 free on-line articles per month. This measure was regarded as modestly successful after garnering several hundred thousand subscriptions and about $100 million in revenue .


title: The New York Times

text: Beginning in April 2012, the number of free-access articles was halved from 20 to 10 articles per month. Any reader who wanted to access more would have to pay for a digital subscription. This plan allowed free access for occasional readers. Digital subscription rates for four weeks ranged from $15 to $35 depending on the package selected, with periodic new subscriber promotions offering four-week all-digital access for as low as 99¢. Subscribers to the paper's print edition got full access without any additional fee. Some content, such as the front page and section fronts remained free, as well as the Top News page on mobile apps. In January 2013, "The New York Times" Public Editor Margaret M. Sullivan announced that for the first time in many decades, the paper generated more revenue through subscriptions than through advertising.


title: The New York Times

text: In December 2017, the number of free articles per month was reduced from 10 to 5, the first change to the metered paywall since April 2012. An executive of the New York Times Company stated that the decision was motivated by "an all-time high" in the demand for journalism. A digital subscription to "The New York Times" cost $16 a month in 2017. , "The New York Times" had a total of 3.5 million paid subscriptions in both print and digital versions, and about 130 million monthly readers, more than double its audience two years previously. In February 2018, the New York Times Company reported increased revenue from the digital-only subscriptions, adding 157,000 new subscribers to a total of 2.6 million digital-only subscribers. Digital advertising also saw growth during this period. At the same time, advertising for the print version of the journal fell.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2008, "The New York Times" was made available as an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch; as well as publishing an iPad app in 2010. The app allowed users to download articles to their mobile device enabling them to read the paper even when they were unable to receive a signal. , "The New York Times" iPad app is ad-supported and available for free without a paid subscription, but translated into a subscription-based model in 2011.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2010, "The New York Times" editors collaborated with students and faculty from New York University's Studio 20 Journalism Masters program to launch and produce "The Local East Village", a hyperlocal blog designed to offer news "by, for and about the residents of the East Village". That same year, reCAPTCHA helped to digitize old editions of "The New York Times".


title: The New York Times

text: In 2010, the newspaper also launched an app for Android smartphones, followed later by an app for Windows Phones.


title: The New York Times

text: Moreover, the "Times" was the first newspaper to offer a video game as part of its editorial content, "Food Import Folly" by Persuasive Games.


title: The New York Times

text: The "Times Reader" is a digital version of "The New York Times", created via a collaboration between the newspaper and Microsoft. "Times Reader" takes the principles of print journalism and applies them to the technique of online reporting, using a series of technologies developed by Microsoft and their Windows Presentation Foundation team. It was announced in Seattle in April 2006, by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., Bill Gates, and Tom Bodkin.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2009, the "Times Reader" 2.0 was rewritten in Adobe AIR. In December 2013, the newspaper announced that the "Times Reader" app would be discontinued as of January 6, 2014, urging readers of the app to instead begin using the subscription-only "Today's Paper" app.


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" began producing podcasts in 2006. Among the early podcasts were Inside The Times and Inside The New York Times Book Review. Several of the "Times"' podcasts were cancelled in 2012.


title: The New York Times

text: The "Times" returned to launching new podcasts in 2016, including Modern Love with WBUR. On January 30, 2017, "The New York Times" launched a news podcast, "The Daily". In October 2018, NYT debuted The Argument with opinion columnists Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and David Leonhardt. It is a weekly discussion about a single issue explained from the left, center, and right of the political spectrum.


title: The New York Times

text: In June 2012, "The New York Times" introduced its first official foreign-language variant, cn.nytimes.com, a Chinese-language news site viewable in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters. The project was led by Craig S. Smith on the business side and Philip P. Pan on the editorial side, with content created by staff based in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong, though the server was placed outside of China to avoid censorship issues.


title: The New York Times

text: The site's initial success was interrupted in October that year following the publication of an investigative article by David Barboza about the finances of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's family. In retaliation for the article, the Chinese government blocked access to both "nytimes.com" and "cn.nytimes".com inside the People's Republic of China (PRC).


title: The New York Times

text: Despite Chinese government interference, the Chinese-language operations continued to develop, briefly adding a second site, cn.nytstyle.com, iOS and Android apps, and newsletters, some of which are accessible inside the PRC. The China operations also produce print publications in Chinese. Traffic to "cn.nytimes.com", meanwhile, has risen due to the widespread use of VPN technology in the PRC and to a growing Chinese audience outside mainland China. "The New York Times" articles are also available to users in China via the use of mirror websites, apps, domestic newspapers, and social media. The Chinese platforms now represent one of "The New York Times" top five digital markets globally. The editor-in-chief of the Chinese platforms is Ching-Ching Ni.


title: The New York Times

text: Between February 2016 and September 2019, "The New York Times" launched a standalone Spanish-language edition, "The New York Times en Español". The Spanish-language version featured increased coverage of news and events in Latin America and Spain. The expansion into Spanish language news content allowed the newspaper to expand its audience into the Spanish speaking world and increase its revenue. The Spanish-language version was seen as a way to compete with the established El País newspaper of Spain, which bills itself the "global newspaper in Spanish." Its Spanish version has a team of journalists in Mexico City as well as correspondents in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Miami, and Madrid, Spain. It was discontinued in September 2019, citing lack of financial success as the reason.


title: The New York Times

text: In March 2013, "The New York Times" and National Film Board of Canada announced a partnership titled A Short History of the Highrise, which will create four short documentaries for the Internet about life in high rise buildings as part of the NFB's "Highrise" project, utilizing images from the newspaper's photo archives for the first three films, and user-submitted images for the final film. The third project in the "Short History of the Highrise" series won a Peabody Award in 2013.


title: The New York Times

text: The TimesMachine is a Web-based archive of scanned issues of "The New York Times" from 1851 through 2002.


title: The New York Times

text: Unlike "The New York Times" online archive, the TimesMachine presents scanned images of the actual newspaper. All non-advertising content can be displayed on a per-story basis in a separate PDF display page and saved for future reference. The archive is available to "The New York Times" subscribers, whether via home delivery or digital access.


title: The New York Times

text: Because of holidays, no editions were printed on November 23, 1851; January 2, 1852; July 4, 1852; January 2, 1853; and January 1, 1854.


title: The New York Times

text: Because of strikes, the regular edition of "The New York Times" was not printed during the following periods:


title: The New York Times

text: The newspaper's website was hacked on August 29, 2013, by the Syrian Electronic Army, a hacking group that supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The SEA managed to penetrate the paper's domain name registrar, Melbourne IT, and alter DNS records for "The New York Times", putting some of its websites out of service for hours.


title: The New York Times

text: Walter Duranty, who served as its Moscow bureau chief from 1922 through 1936, has been criticized for a series of stories in 1931 on the Soviet Union and won a Pulitzer Prize for his work at that time. Criticism rose for his denial of widespread famine, known in Ukraine as the Holodomor, in the early 1930s in which he summarized Soviet propaganda, and the "Times" published, as fact: "Conditions are bad, but there is no famine".


title: The New York Times

text: In 2003, after the Pulitzer Board began a renewed inquiry, the "Times" hired Mark von Hagen, professor of Russian history at Columbia University, to review Duranty's work. Von Hagen found Duranty's reports to be unbalanced and uncritical, and that they far too often gave voice to Stalinist propaganda. In comments to the press he stated, "For the sake of The New York Times' honor, they should take the prize away." "The Ukrainian Weekly" covered the efforts to rescind Duranty's prize. The "Times" has since made a public statement and the Pulitzer committee has declined to rescind the award twice, stating that "Mr. Duranty's 1931 work, measured by today's standards for foreign reporting, falls seriously short. In that regard, the Board's view is similar to that of "The New York Times" itself."


title: The New York Times

text: Jerold Auerbach, a Guggenheim Fellow and Fulbright Lecturer, wrote in "Print to Fit, The New York Times, Zionism and Israel, 1896–2016" that it was of utmost importance to Adolph Ochs, the first Jewish owner of the paper, that in spite of the persecution of Jews in Germany, "The Times", through its reporting, should never be classified as a "Jewish newspaper".


title: The New York Times

text: After Ochs' death in 1935, his son-in-law Arthur Hays Sulzberger became the publisher of "The New York Times" and maintained the understanding that no reporting should reflect on "The Times" as a Jewish newspaper. Sulzburger shared Ochs' concerns about the way Jews were perceived in American society. His apprehensions about judgement were manifested positively by his strong fidelity to the United States. At the same time, within the pages of "The New York Times," Sulzburger refused to bring attention to Jews, including the refusal to identify Jews as major victims of Nazi genocide. Instead, many reports of Nazi-ordered slaughter identified Jewish victims as "persons." "The Times" even opposed the rescue of Jewish refugees.


title: The New York Times

text: On November 14, 2001, in "The New York Times" 150th-anniversary issue, in an article entitled "Turning Away From the Holocaust," former executive editor Max Frankel wrote:


title: The New York Times

text: According to Frankel, harsh judges of "The New York Times" "have blamed 'self-hating Jews' and 'anti-Zionists' among the paper's owners and staff." Frankel responded to this criticism by describing the fragile sensibilities of the Jewish owners of "The New York Times":


title: The New York Times

text: At "The Times", the reluctance to highlight the systematic slaughter of Jews was undoubtedly influenced by the views of the publisher, Arthur Hays Sulzberger. He believed strongly and publicly that Judaism was a religion, not a race or nationality – that Jews should be separate only in the way they worshiped. He thought they needed no state or political and social institutions of their own. He went to great lengths to avoid having "The Times" branded a "Jewish newspaper." He resented other publications for emphasizing the Jewishness of people in the news.


title: The New York Times

text: In the same article, Frankel quotes Laurel Leff, associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University, who in 2000 had described how the newspaper downplayed Nazi Germany's targeting of Jews for genocide.


title: The New York Times

text: November 1942 was a critical month for American Jews. After several months of delay, the U.S. State Department had confirmed already published information that Germany was engaged in the systematic extermination of European Jews. Newspaper reports put the death toll at one million and described the "most ruthless methods," including mass gassings at special camps.


title: The New York Times

text: Yet at the beginning of November 1942, Sulzberger lobbied U.S. government officials against the founding of a homeland for Jews to escape to. The Times was silent on the matter of an increase in U.S. immigration quotas to permit more Jews to enter, and "actively supported the British Government's restriction on legal immigration to Palestine even as the persecution of Jews intensified". Sulzberger described Jews as being of no more concern to Nazi Germany than Roman Catholic priests or Christian ministers, and that Jews certainly were not singled out for extermination.


title: The New York Times

text: Leff's 2005 book "Buried by the Times" documents the paper's tendency before, during, and after World War II to place deep inside its daily editions the news stories about the ongoing persecution and extermination of Jews, while obscuring in those stories the special impact of the Nazis' crimes on Jews in particular. Leff attributes this dearth in part to the complex personal and political views of Sulzberger, concerning Jewishness, antisemitism, and Zionism.


title: The New York Times

text: In 2004, the newspaper's public editor Daniel Okrent said in an opinion piece that "The New York Times" did have a liberal bias in news coverage of certain social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. He stated that this bias reflected the paper's cosmopolitanism, which arose naturally from its roots as a hometown paper of New York City, writing that the coverage of the "Times"s Arts & Leisure; Culture; and the Sunday "Times Magazine" trend to the left.If you're examining the paper's coverage of these subjects from a perspective that is neither urban nor Northeastern nor culturally seen-it-all; if you are among the groups The Times treats as strange objects to be examined on a laboratory slide (devout Catholics, gun owners, Orthodox Jews, Texans); if your value system wouldn't wear well on a composite New York Times journalist, then a walk through this paper can make you feel you're traveling in a strange and forbidding world."Times" public editor Arthur Brisbane wrote in 2012:When The Times covers a national presidential campaign, I have found that the lead editors and reporters are disciplined about enforcing fairness and balance, and usually succeed in doing so. Across the paper's many departments, though, so many share a kind of political and cultural progressivism — for lack of a better term — that this worldview virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times."The New York Times" public editor (ombudsman) Elizabeth Spayd wrote in 2016 that "Conservatives and even many moderates, see in The Times a blue-state worldview" and accuse it of harboring a liberal bias. Spayd did not analyze the substance of the claim but did opine that the "Times" is "part of a fracturing media environment that reflects a fractured country. That in turn leads liberals and conservatives toward separate news sources." "Times" executive editor Dean Baquet stated that he does not believe coverage has a liberal bias:We have to be really careful that people feel like they can see themselves in "The New York Times". I want us to be perceived as fair and honest to the world, not just a segment of it. It's a really difficult goal. Do we pull it off all the time? No.


title: The New York Times

text: In May 2003, "The New York Times" reporter Jayson Blair was forced to resign from the newspaper after he was caught plagiarizing and fabricating elements of his stories. Some critics contended that Blair's race was a major factor in his hiring and in "The New York Times" initial reluctance to fire him.


title: The New York Times

text: The "Times" supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On May 26, 2004, more than a year after the war started, the newspaper asserted that some of its articles had not been as rigorous as they should have been, and were insufficiently qualified, frequently overly dependent upon information from Iraqi exiles desiring regime change.


title: The New York Times

text: The New York Times admitted "Articles based on dire claims about Iraq tended to get prominent display, while follow-up articles that called the original ones into question were sometimes buried. In some cases, there was no follow-up at all." The paper said it was encouraged to report the claims by "United States officials convinced of the need to intervene in Iraq".


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" was involved in a significant controversy regarding the allegations surrounding Iraq and weapons of mass destruction in September 2002. A front-page story was authored by Judith Miller which claimed that the Iraqi government was in the process of developing nuclear weapons was published. Miller's story was cited by officials such as Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld as part of a campaign to commission the Iraq War. One of Miller's prime sources was Ahmed Chalabi, an Iraqi expatriate who returned to Iraq after the U.S. invasion and held a number of governmental positions culminating in acting oil minister and deputy prime minister from May 2005 until May 2006. In 2005, negotiating a private severance package with Sulzberger, Miller retired after criticisms that her reporting of the lead-up to the Iraq War was factually inaccurate and overly favorable to the position of the Bush administration, for which "The New York Times" later apologized.


title: The New York Times

text: A 2003 study in the "Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics" concluded that "The New York Times" reporting was more favorable to Israelis than to Palestinians. A 2002 study published in the journal "Journalism" examined Middle East coverage of the Second Intifada over a one-month period in "The New York" "Times", "The" "Washington Post" and the "Chicago Tribune". The study authors said that the "Times" was "the most slanted in a pro-Israeli direction" with a bias "reflected...in its use of headlines, photographs, graphics, sourcing practices, and lead paragraphs."


title: The New York Times

text: For its coverage of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, some (such as Ed Koch) have claimed that the paper is pro-Palestinian, while others (such as As'ad AbuKhalil) have claimed that it is pro-Israel. "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", by political science professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, alleges "The New York Times" sometimes criticizes Israeli policies but is not even-handed and is generally pro-Israel. In 2009, the Simon Wiesenthal Center criticized the newspaper for printing cartoons regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that were described as "hideously anti-Semitic".


title: The New York Times

text: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal to write an article for the paper on grounds of lack of objectivity. A piece in which Thomas Friedman commented that praise given to Netanyahu during a speech at the U.S. Congress was "paid for by the Israel lobby" elicited an apology and clarification from its author.


title: The New York Times

text: The 1619 Project, a long-form journalism project re-evaluating slavery and its legacy in the United States led by investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, has received criticism from some historians.


title: The New York Times

text: In December 2019, twelve historians wrote to "The New York Times Magazine", expressing concern over what they alleged were inaccuracies and falsehoods fundamental to Hannah-Jones' reporting. The magazine's editor-in-chief, Jake Silverstein, responded to the historians' letter in an editorial, in which he called into question the historical accuracy of some of the letter's claims. In an article in "The Atlantic", historian Sean Wilentz responded to Silverstein, writing, "No effort to educate the public in order to advance social justice can afford to dispense with a respect for basic facts" and disputed the accuracy of Silverstein's defense of the project.


title: The New York Times

text: In September 2020, the "Times" updated the opening text of the project website to remove the phrase "understanding 1619 as our true founding" without accompanying editorial notes. Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote that the differences showed that the newspaper was backing away from some of the initiative's more controversial claims. The "Times" defended its practices, with Hannah-Jones emphasizing how most of the project's content has remained unchanged.


title: The New York Times

text: The "Times" has developed a national and international "reputation for thoroughness". Among journalists, the paper is held in high regard; a 1999 survey of newspaper editors conducted by the "Columbia Journalism Review" found that the "Times" was the "best" American paper, ahead of "The Washington Post", "The Wall Street Journal", and "Los Angeles Times". The "Times" also was ranked in a 2011 "quality" ranking of U.S. newspapers by Daniel de Vise of "The Washington Post"; the objective ranking took into account the number of recent Pulitzer Prizes won, circulation, and perceived Web site quality. A 2012 report in WNYC called the "Times" "the most respected newspaper in the world."


title: The New York Times

text: Nevertheless, like many other U.S. media sources, the "Times" has suffered from a decline in public perceptions of credibility in the U.S. in the early 21st century. A Pew Research Center survey in 2012 asked respondents about their views on credibility of various news organizations. Among respondents who gave a rating, 49% said that they believed "all or most" of the "Times"s reporting, while 50% disagreed. A large percentage (19%) of respondents were unable to rate believability. The "Times"s score was comparable to that of "USA Today". Media analyst Brooke Gladstone of WNYC's "On the Media", writing for "The New York Times", says that the decline in U.S. public trust of the mass media can be explained (1) by the rise of the polarized Internet-driven news; (2) by a decline in trust in U.S. institutions more generally; and (3) by the fact that "Americans say they want accuracy and impartiality, but the polls suggest that, actually, most of us are seeking affirmation."


title: The New York Times

text: "The New York Times" has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. The prize is awarded for excellence in journalism in a range of categories.


title: The New York Times

text: It has also, , won three Peabody Awards and jointly received two. Peabody Awards are given for accomplishments in television, radio, and online media.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Marvel's The Avengers (classified under the name Marvel Avengers Assemble in the United Kingdom and Ireland), or simply The Avengers, is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Written and directed by Joss Whedon, the film features an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner as the Avengers, alongside Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Nick Fury and the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton to form a team capable of stopping Thor's brother Loki from subjugating Earth.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film's development 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 and would bring together Tony Stark (Downey), Steve Rogers (Evans), Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), and Thor (Hemsworth) from Marvel's previous films. With the signing of Johansson as Natasha Romanoff in March 2009 and Renner as Clint Barton in June 2010, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the original screenplay 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 has more than 2,200 visual effects shots.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: "The Avengers" premiered in Los Angeles on April 11, 2012, and was released in the United States on May 4, as the last film of of the MCU. The film received praise for Whedon's direction and screenplay, visual effects, action sequences, acting, and musical score. The film grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, setting numerous box office records and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release and the highest-grossing film of 2012, as well as the first Marvel production to generate $1 billion in ticket sales. In 2017, "The Avengers" was featured as one of the 100 greatest films of all time in an "Empire" magazine poll. It received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 85th Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. Three sequels have been released: "" (2015), "" (2018), and "" (2019).


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The Asgardian Loki encounters the Other, the leader of an extraterrestrial race known as the Chitauri. In exchange for retrieving the Tesseract, a powerful energy source of unknown potential, the Other promises Loki an army with which he can subjugate Earth. Nick Fury, director of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., arrives at a remote research facility, where physicist Dr. Erik Selvig is leading a team experimenting on the Tesseract. The Tesseract suddenly activates and opens a wormhole, allowing Loki to reach Earth. Loki steals the Tesseract and uses his scepter to enslave Selvig and other agents, including Clint Barton, to aid him.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In response, Fury reactivates the "Avengers Initiative". Agent Natasha Romanoff heads to Kolkata to recruit Dr. Bruce Banner to trace the Tesseract through its gamma radiation emissions. Fury approaches Steve Rogers to retrieve the Tesseract, and Agent Phil Coulson visits Tony Stark to have him check Selvig's research. Loki is in Stuttgart, where Barton steals the iridium needed to stabilize the Tesseract's power, leading to a confrontation with Rogers, Stark, and Romanoff that ends with Loki's surrender. While Loki gets escorted to S.H.I.E.L.D., his adoptive brother Thor arrives and frees him, hoping to convince him to abandon his plan and return to Asgard. Stark and Rogers intervene and Loki is taken to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying aircraft carrier, the Helicarrier, where he is imprisoned.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The Avengers become divided over how to approach Loki and the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to harness the Tesseract to develop powerful weapons as a deterrent against hostile extraterrestrials. As they argue, Loki's agents attack the Helicarrier, and the stress causes Banner to transform into the Hulk. Stark and Rogers work to restart the damaged engine, and Thor attempts to stop the Hulk's rampage. Romanoff knocks Barton unconscious, breaking Loki's mind control. Loki escapes after killing Coulson and Fury uses Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers into working as a team. Loki uses the Tesseract and a wormhole generator Selvig built to open a wormhole above Stark Tower to the Chitauri fleet in space, launching his invasion.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Rogers, Stark, Romanoff, Barton, Thor, and the Hulk rally in defense of New York City, and together the Avengers battle the Chitauri. The Hulk beats Loki into submission. Romanoff makes her way to the generator, where Selvig, freed from Loki's mind control, reveals that Loki's scepter can shut down the generator. Fury's superiors from the World Security Council attempt to end the invasion by launching a nuclear missile at Midtown Manhattan. Stark intercepts the missile and takes it through the wormhole toward the Chitauri fleet. The missile detonates, destroying the Chitauri mothership and disabling their forces on Earth. Stark's suit loses power, and he goes into freefall, but the Hulk saves him. In the aftermath, Thor returns with Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard, where Loki will face their justice.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Clark Gregg appears as Phil Coulson, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who oversees many of the division's field operations. Gregg was cast as part of a multi-picture deal with Marvel. Gregg said his role was expanded in "The Avengers": "[What] Agent Coulson had become in terms of the import of this particular story, and how important his job is in bringing the Avengers together, it kind of felt a little surreal, like somebody was playing a prank and that wasn't the real script. But it wasn't, it was the real thing, I got to show up and do that stuff, and it felt like such an amazing payoff to what the journey had been and the fact I had been doing it for five years." Gregg said Whedon provided insight into his character's backstory, particularly about Coulson being a fan of Captain America. Cobie Smulders appears as Maria Hill, a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who works closely with Nick Fury. Smulders, whom Joss Whedon once considered for his unproduced live-action Wonder Woman film, was selected from a short list of potential actresses including Morena Baccarin. Smulders' deal would integrate her into nine films. Regarding her preparation, Smulders said, "I hired this amazing black-ops trainer to teach me how to hold a gun, take me to a shooting range, how to hit, how to hold myself, how to walk and basically how to look. I don't do a ton of fighting in the movie, which is why I wasn't offered a trainer, but I wanted to look like I had the ability to." On relating to the character, Smulders said, "I can relate to her being a mom and being a businesswoman and trying to work full-time and raising a family and having a career. We're asked to do a lot of things these days. I feel she is just all about her job and keeping things going."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Ideas for a film based on the Avengers began in 2003, with Avi Arad, the CEO of Marvel Studios, first announcing plans to develop the film in April 2005, after Marvel Enterprises declared independence by allying with Merrill Lynch to produce a slate of films that would be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Marvel discussed their plans in a brief presentation to Wall Street analysts; the studio's intention was to release individual films for the main characters—to establish their identities and familiarize audiences with them—before merging the characters together in a crossover film. Screenwriter Zak Penn, who wrote "The Incredible Hulk", became attached to the film in 2006, and was hired by Marvel Studios to write the film in June 2007. In the wake of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Marvel negotiated with the Writers Guild of America to ensure that it could create films based on its comic book counterparts, including Captain America, Ant-Man and The Avengers. After the successful release of "Iron Man" (2008) in May, the company set a July 2011 release date for "The Avengers". In September 2008, Marvel Studios reached an agreement with Paramount—an extension of a previous partnership—which gave the company distribution rights for five future Marvel films.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Casting began in October 2008 with Downey's signing. Though Don Cheadle was also reported to be reprising his "Iron Man 2" role of War Machine for "The Avengers", he later stated that he did not think the character would appear in the film. At the same time, two major prospects occurred for Marvel: Jon Favreau was brought in as an executive producer for the film, and the company signed a long-term lease with Raleigh Studios to produce three other big-budget films—"Iron Man 2", "Thor", and "" (2011)—at their Manhattan Beach, California complex. In February 2009, Samuel L. Jackson signed a nine-picture deal with Marvel Entertainment to play Nick Fury in "Iron Man 2" and other films. In September 2009, Edward Norton, who played Bruce Banner in "The Incredible Hulk" stated that he was open to returning in the film. The next month, executive producer Jon Favreau stated that he would not direct the film, but would "definitely have input and a say". Favreau also expressed concerns, stating, "It's going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of Iron Man, and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero, and then with "Avengers" you're going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of Thor [...] [Mixing] the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it's going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we've created". In March 2009, actress Scarlett Johansson replaced Emily Blunt in portraying Natasha Romanoff in "Iron Man 2", a deal that subsequently attached her to "The Avengers". The following day, Marvel announced that the film's release date had been pushed back to May 4, 2012, almost a full year later. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston joined the film's cast in June, returning as Thor and Loki, respectively.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In July 2009, Penn talked about the crossover process, stating, "My job is to kind of shuttle between the different movies and make sure that finally we're mimicking that comic book structure where all of these movies are connected. . . There's just a board that tracks 'Here's where everything that happens in this movie overlaps with that movie'. . . I'm pushing them to do as many animatics as possible to animate the movie, to draw boards so that we're all working off the same visual ideas. But the exigencies of production take first priority". At first, Penn tried to reduce Thor's role in the script because he had doubts about the character's ability to succeed on film. He changed his mind once Hemsworth was cast as Thor. The film had always intended to use Loki as its villain, but Penn noted that early discussion had considered using Red Skull.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In January 2010, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige was asked if it would be difficult to meld the fantasy of "Thor" with the high-tech science fiction in "Iron Man" and "The Avengers". "No," he said, "because we're doing the Jack Kirby/Stan Lee/Walt Simonson/J. Michael Straczynski "Thor". We're not doing the blow-the-dust-off-of-the-old-Norse-book-in-your-library "Thor". And in the "Thor" of the Marvel Universe, there's a race called the Asgardians. And we're linked through this Tree of Life that we're unaware of. It's real science, but we don't know about it yet. The 'Thor' movie is about teaching people that". In March, it was reported that Penn had completed the first draft of the script, and that Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada and "Avengers" comic-book writer Brian Michael Bendis had received copies. Also in March, Chris Evans accepted an offer to play Captain America in three films including "The Avengers".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: By April 2010, Joss Whedon was close to completing a deal to direct the film and to rework Penn's script, and was officially announced in July 2010. On the hiring, Arad stated: "My personal opinion is that Joss will do a fantastic job. He loves these characters and is a fantastic writer [...] It's part of his life so you know he is going to protect it [...] I expect someone like him is going to make the script even better". Feige added, "I've known Joss for many years. We were looking for the right thing and he came in and met on it [...] we want[ed] to find a director that’s on the verge of doing something great, as we think Joss is." Whedon stated at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, that what drew him to the film is that he loves how "these people shouldn't be in the same room let alone on the same team—and that is the definition of family".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: When Whedon received Penn's draft, he told Feige he felt the studio did not "have anything" and they should "pretend this draft never happened". Part of Whedon's issue was the lack of character connections in Penn's draft, which necessitated Whedon to begin "at square one". Whedon went on to write a five-page treatment of his plan for the film, and created the tagline "Avengers: Some Assembly Required", riffing on the "Avengers Assemble" slogan from the comic books. Marvel quickly began working to sign Whedon to write and direct, only stipulating that he include the Avengers against Loki, a battle among the heroes in the middle, a battle against the villains at the end, and he get the film done for its May 2012 release. The script would go through "a lot of insane iterations of what might be" according to Whedon. Whedon explained there was a point when it was not certain Johansson would star in the film, so he "wrote a huge bunch of pages starring The Wasp", and wanted Zooey Deschanel to play the character. He also was "worried that one British character actor [(Hiddleston)] was not enough to take on Earth's mightiest heroes, and that we'd feel like we were rooting for the overdog. So I wrote a huge draft with Ezekiel Stane, Obadiah Stane's son, in it." Once all of the actors were "locked in place the movie stayed on mission." Whedon noted that the characters used do not have the same issue, unlike the X-Men. He felt "these guys just don't belong together" before realizing their interactions could be like "The Dirty Dozen" (1967). Whedon also referenced "Dr. Strangelove" (1964), "The Abyss" (1989), "His Girl Friday" (1940), and "Black Hawk Down" (2001). Whedon would ultimately share final screenplay credit with Penn, though Whedon noted he "fought" for sole credit and was "very upset about it." Penn felt the two "could have collaborated more, but that was not his choice. He wanted to do it his way, and I respect that."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The casting process continued into much of 2010, with the additions of Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, and Clark Gregg. Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton, whom Marvel declined to have back. "We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in "The Avengers"," stated Feige. "Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. "The Avengers" demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Samuel, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks." In response, Norton's agent Brian Swardstrom decried Feige's statement, calling it "purposefully misleading" and an "inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light". In October 2014, Norton claimed it was his own decision never to play Hulk again because he "wanted more diversity" with his career, and did not want to be associated with only one character.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In August 2010, it was reported that Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios were planning to start shooting in February. In October 2010, Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York and the Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York City, were announced as filming locations, with set construction slated to begin in November, but as Whedon later explained, "Originally we were supposed to be in Los Angeles, then for a short period we were supposed to be in New York, and then somehow we ended up in Albuquerque." Also that October, Walt Disney Studios agreed to pay Paramount at least $115 million for the worldwide distribution rights to "Iron Man 3" (2013) and "The Avengers". The deal also allowed Paramount to continue to collect the 8 percent box office fee it would have earned for distributing the film and a marquee credit—placement of the company's production logo on marketing materials and the film's opening titles. As a result, the onscreen production credit reads "Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures" though the film is solely owned, distributed, financed, and marketed by Disney. Paramount's Epix retained pay TV rights.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In December 2010, Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson and Marvel Studios Co-president Louis D'Esposito announced "The Avengers" would film primarily in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with principal photography scheduled for April through September 2011. Parts of the film were also scheduled to be shot in Michigan, but a plan to film in Detroit ended after Governor Rick Snyder issued a budget proposal that would eliminate a film tax incentive. Three months later in March, Governor of Ohio John Kasich announced before Mayor Frank G. Jackson's State of the City address that "The Avengers" would film in Cleveland.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Concept illustrator and designer of Iron Man's Mark VII armor Phil Saunders stated that "Joss Whedon was looking for something that had the 'cool' factor of the suitcase suit [from "Iron Man 2"], while still being a fully armored, heavy duty suit that could take on an army in the final battle." To that end, Saunders borrowed ideas that had been proposed in "Iron Man 2" as well as some ideas that had been abandoned in "Iron Man" and merged them together in a modular suit that has big ammo packets on the arms and a backpack. The Science & Entertainment Exchange also provided science consultation for the film.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Casting reached its final stages the following year. In February 2011, Cobie Smulders was cast in the role of Maria Hill, after participating in screen tests conducted by Marvel for the role of a key S.H.I.E.L.D. member, who Samuel L. Jackson described as Nick Fury's sidekick. Over the successive months, the film's cast expanded to include Stellan Skarsgård, Paul Bettany, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow was cast at Downey's insistence; prior to this, Whedon had not intended the film to include supporting characters from the heroes' individual films, commenting, "You need to separate the characters from their support systems in order to create the isolation you need for a team."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Principal photography began on April 25, 2011, in Albuquerque, New Mexico at Albuquerque Studios, with the working title "Group Hug". In June 2011, stuntman Jeremy Fitzgerald injured his head while attempting a stunt involving a 30-foot fall from a building after getting hit by an arrow. A Marvel spokesperson later told TMZ that despite the injury, Fitzgerald recovered and continued working on set. The following month, secondary filming took place about an hour outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Butler area. A chase sequence was also shot in Worthington, Pennsylvania at Creekside Mushroom Farms, the world's largest single-site mushroom farm, which provided 150 miles of abandoned limestone tunnels 300 feet below the ground for filming.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Production relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in August 2011, where filming took place over a period of four weeks. The city's East 9th Street was chosen as a double for New York City's 42nd Street to be used in climactic battle scenes. Army Reserve soldiers assigned to the Columbus, Ohio-based 391st Military Police Battalion provided background action during the battle scenes in Cleveland. Staff Sergeant Michael T. Landis stated the use of real soldiers made the scenes more realistic and helped portray the military in a more positive light, explaining that, "It's easy for us to make on-the-spot corrections to tactics and uniforms. The director actually took our recommendation on one scene and let us all engage the enemy as opposed to only the gunners in the trucks engaging". Filming also took place in the large vacuum chamber at the NASA Plum Brook Station near Sandusky, Ohio. The station's Space Power Facility was used to portray a S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility. A series of explosions were filmed at the Chevrolet powertrain plant in Parma, Ohio as part of the battle sequence that began in Cleveland. Scenes from the film were also shot on Public Square and the Detroit–Superior Bridge. Public Square's southwest quadrant was turned into Stuttgart, Germany for filming.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Principal photography concluded in New York City, where filming occurred over two days. Locations there included Park Avenue and Central Park. For scenes taking place in Manhattan, visual effects supervisor Jake Morrison shot aerial footage for over three days to use as background plates, elaborating that his main objective was to "get as much aerial work in as possible for the audience to see the big expanses, the wide establishing shots, while also making sure that the effects work doesn't look too computer-generated". "We're getting much better at making entirely computer-generated environments," Morrison explained, "but there is no substitute for starting with a real image and adding what you need."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey stated that he composed the frame with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio to cope with the main characters' varying heights, explaining, "shooting 1.85:1 is kind of unusual for an epic film like this, but we needed the height in the screen to be able to frame in all the characters like Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow, who is much smaller. We had to give them all precedence and width within the frame. Also, Joss [Whedon] knew the final battle sequence was going to be this extravaganza in Manhattan, so the height and vertical scale of the buildings was going to be really important." The film was McGarvey's first venture with a digital camera, the Arri Alexa. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS 7D digital SLR cameras were used for some shots, and high-speed shots were captured on 35 mm film with the Arriflex 435. About his visual approach, McGarvey remarked, "Joss and I were keen on having a very visceral and naturalistic quality to the image. We wanted this to feel immersive and did not want a 'comic book look' that might distance an audience with the engagement of the film. We moved the camera a lot on Steadicam, cranes and on dollies to create kinetic images; and we chose angles that were dramatic, like low angles for heroic imagery."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In December 2011, Disney announced that the film would be converted to 3D. Said Whedon, "I'm not a big fan of extreme long lens, talky movies – I like to see the space I'm in and relate to it, so 3D kinda fits my aesthetic anyway. And the technology has advanced so far in the past couple years." Whedon also said that "there definitely are movies that shouldn't be in 3D" but ""The Avengers" isn't obnoxiously 3D. There's no, 'Oh look, we're going to spend 20 minutes going through this tunnel because it's in 3D!' And no one is pointing at the screen the entire time. But it's an action movie. Things tend to hurtle toward the screen anyway". In January 2012, it was reported that the film would be digitally remastered for IMAX 3D and would open in IMAX theaters on May 4, 2012, the same day it opened in regular theaters. The IMAX release followed Marvel's IMAX releases of "Iron Man 2" and "Thor".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In a May 2012 interview, Whedon said that it was his decision to include Thanos in a post-credits scene, although the character is not identified in the film. "He for me is the most powerful and fascinating Marvel villain. He's the great grand daddy of the badasses and he's in love with Death and I just think that's so cute. For me, the greatest Avengers [comic book] was "Avengers Annual" #7 (1977) that Jim Starlin did followed by "Marvel Two-in-One Annual" #2 (1977) that contained the death of Adam Warlock. Those were some of the most important texts and I think underrated milestones in Marvel history and Thanos is all over that, so somebody had to be in control and had to be behind Loki's work and I was like 'It's got to be Thanos.' And they said 'Okay' and I'm like 'Oh my God!'" An additional coda involving the Avengers eating shawarma was shot on April 12, 2012, a day after the world premiere. Evans wore a prosthetic jaw while filming the scene to cover the beard he had grown. Shawarma sales in Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Boston reportedly skyrocketed in the days following the film's release. Whedon stated the inspiration for the shawarma scene came from the events surrounding the filming of the scene where Fred dies in Wesley's arms in the "Angel" episode, "A Hole in the World". After filming the scene, Whedon and actors Amy Acker and Denisof, who portrayed Fred and Wesley, respectively, "went out for drinks and ended up just sitting around quietly, exhausted from the day's events," which Whedon then mimicked in the scene for the film.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film contains more than 2,200 visual effects shots completed by 14 companies: Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Weta Digital, Scanline VFX, Hydraulx, Fuel VFX, Evil Eye Pictures, Luma Pictures, Cantina Creative, Trixter, Modus FX, Whiskytree, Digital Domain, The Third Floor, and Method Design. ILM was the lead vendor and shared responsibility for creating many of the film's key effects, including the Helicarrier, the New York cityscape, digital body doubles, Iron Man and the Hulk. To create the on-screen Hulk, Ruffalo performed in a motion-capture suit on set with the other actors while four motion-capture HD cameras (two full body, two focused on his face) captured his face and body movements. Jeff White, ILM's visual effects supervisor, aimed for a "less cartoony" depiction of the Hulk compared to the one the firm created for Ang Lee's 2003 film, stating, "We really wanted to utilize everything we've developed the last 10 years and make it a pretty spectacular Hulk. One of the great design decisions was to incorporate Mark Ruffalo into the look of him. So, much of Hulk is based on Ruffalo and his performance, not only in motion capture and on set, but down to his eyes, his teeth, and his tongue."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: ILM digitally recreated the vast majority of the New York cityscape used in the film. In total, ILM artists rendered an area of about ten city blocks by about four city blocks. To do this, ILM sent out a team of four photographers to take pictures of the area in a shoot that lasted eight weeks. Tyson Bidner, the New York location manager on the film, helped by securing the rights to almost every building's likeness in the area ILM needed. Disney and Sony Pictures agreed for OsCorp Tower from "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012) to be included in the film, but the idea was dropped because much of the skyline had already been completed.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Weta Digital took over duties for animating Iron Man during the forest duel from ILM. Guy Williams, Weta's visual effects supervisor, said, "We shared assets back and forth with ILM, but our pipelines are unique and it's hard for other assets to plug into it. But in this case, we got their models and we had to redo the texture spaces because the way we texture maps is different." Williams said the most difficult part was re-creating Iron Man's reflective metal surfaces.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Scanline VFX completed the reveal shots of the Helicarrier, from the moment Black Widow and Captain America arrive on the carrier deck to the point where it lifts off. Evil Eye Pictures composited digital backgrounds into shots filmed against a greenscreen for scenes taking place inside the Helicarrier. Colin Strause of Hydraulx said, "We did the opening ten minutes of the movie, other than the opening set-up in space" including Loki's arrival on Earth and subsequent escape from the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Luma Pictures worked on shots featuring the Helicarrier's bridge and incorporated the graphic monitor displays that were developed by Cantina Creative. Fuel VFX completed shots taking place in and around Tony Stark's penthouse at Stark Tower. Digital Domain created the asteroid environment, where Loki encounters The Other. Method Design in Los Angeles created the film's closing credits. Steve Viola, creative director at Method Design, said, "This piece was a two-minute, self-contained main on end sequence created entirely in CG. For each of the shots in the sequence, we designed, modeled, textured, and lit all of the environments and many of the foreground objects. We received assets from Marvel to include in the piece, then heavily re-modeled and re-surfaced them to create a post-battle macro sequence. We also designed a custom typeface for the Main Title of "The Avengers" as well as 30 credits set in-scene."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In November 2011, Marvel announced that Alan Silvestri, who scored "Captain America: The First Avenger", would write and compose the score for "The Avengers". Silvestri said, "I've worked on films where there have been a number of stars and certainly worked on films where there have been characters of equal weight in terms of their level of importance and profile in the film, but this one is somewhat extreme in that regard because each of these characters has their own world and it's a very different situation. It's very challenging to look for a way to give everyone the weight and consideration they need, but at the same time the film is really about the coming together of these characters, which implies that there is this entity called the Avengers which really has to be representative of all of them together." Silvestri developed the score with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, England. Whedon said, "The score is very old-fashioned, which is why [Silvestri] was letter-perfect for this movie because he can give you the heightened emotion, the <nowiki>[</nowiki>Hans Zimmer<nowiki>]</nowiki> school of 'I'm just feeling a lot right now!' but he can also be extraordinarily cue and character specific, which I love."


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In March 2012, the Indian rock band Agnee released a music video for its single "Hello Andheron", which serves as the theme song for the film's Indian release. Hollywood Records released the soundtrack concept album inspired by the film, "Avengers Assemble", on May 1, 2012, the same day as the score.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film was promoted at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, during which a teaser trailer narrated by Samuel L. Jackson was shown followed by an introduction of the cast. In June 2011, Marvel Studios announced that it would not hold a panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International after studio executives decided it was not prepared to compete with its own past and fan expectations with filming still in production. In July 2011, a teaser trailer that was meant to be the post-credits scene of "Captain America: The First Avenger" was briefly leaked online. "Entertainment Weekly" speculated it came from a preview screening and described the footage as "shaky, fuzzy, flickering and obviously filmed on a cell phone".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In August 2011, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel Studios presented a look at Walt Disney Studios' upcoming film slate, which included "The Avengers", at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. The presentation featured footage from the film and appearances by the cast members. Later in August, Disney dismissed Marvel's executive vice president of worldwide marketing, vice president of worldwide marketing, and manager of worldwide marketing to bring their functions in-house.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In October 2011, Marvel Studios held a presentation at the New York Comic Con that featured new footage and a panel discussion including producer Kevin Feige and several cast members. The first full-length trailer was also released in October. "Comic Book Resources" said, "The two-minute teaser handily establishes the movie's premise" and is "heavy on the assembling, but fans are also treated to plenty of action, as well glimpses of Iron Man's new armor and, best of all, the new take on the Incredible Hulk. Naturally, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark gets the best lines". However, "The Hollywood Reporter" called it, "Awesome. Or it would be if we hadn't seen all of this before and expected every single thing that we saw in the trailer". The trailer, which debuted exclusively on iTunes Movie Trailers, was downloaded over 10 million times in its first 24 hours, breaking the website's record for the most-viewed trailer. This record was surpassed by the trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), which was downloaded more than 12.5 million times in its first 24 hours. A second full-length trailer was released on iTunes in February 2012, reaching a record 13.7 million downloads in 24 hours. The theatrical trailers of "The Avengers" appeared with many films, including "" (2011), "21 Jump Street" (2012), and "The Hunger Games" (2012).


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In January 2012, Marvel Studios held a global Twitter chat. The 30-minute live tweeting event featured writer/director Joss Whedon, cast members Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, and Clark Gregg and a 10-second tease of the 30-second Super Bowl commercial that would air during Super Bowl XLVI in February. According to the "Los Angeles Times", Disney paid an estimated $4 million for the 30-second spot. On May 1, 2012, executives from Marvel Studios, along with actors Tom Hiddleston and Clark Gregg, rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in honor of the film's theatrical release.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In December 2011, Marvel announced that an eight-issue comic-book prelude to the film, written by Christopher Yost and Eric Pearson with art by Luke Ross and Daniel HDR, would be released in March 2012. In February 2012, Marvel announced the release of a second limited series comic book tie-in, "Black Widow Strikes" written by Fred Van Lente, who wrote "Captain America: First Vengeance", the comic-book prequel to "Captain America: The First Avenger". The story is set between "Iron Man 2" and "The Avengers" and follows Black Widow as she runs down some loose ends from "Iron Man 2". Additionally, the title "Avengers Assemble" was launched in March 2012, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Mark Bagley and features the same Avengers lineup as the film battling a new incarnation of the supervillain team Zodiac.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Paul Gitter, Marvel Entertainment's president of consumer products, commented that the build-up to the film helped strengthen retail partnerships: "Retailers have been less tolerant with [intellectual property] films, so we decided that if we started on this coordinated strategy several years ago, retailers would give us shelf space throughout the years and we would have a more sustainable position in the marketplace".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In September 2011, set photos of Robert Downey Jr. driving a new model Acura were published online. An Acura spokesperson later released a statement confirming the company's involvement with the film, "As you may know, Acura has been in the Marvel Comics Universe films as the official car of their fictional law enforcement agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. That relationship continues for "The Avengers". The open-top sports car that was photographed yesterday is a one-off, fictional car that was made just for the movie and will not be produced. That said, as you may also know, our CEO has said publicly that we are studying the development of a new sportscar, but we can't say any more about it at this time." In December 2011, Acura announced that a new NSX styled along the lines of the concept built for "The Avengers" would be unveiled at the 2012 North American International Auto Show. A series of 10 S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs, based on the Acura MDX with modifications by Cinema Vehicle Services, were also made for the film.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In February 2012, it was announced that Marvel has partnered with fragrance company JADS to promote "The Avengers" with character-based fragrances. The announcement was just ahead of the Toy Industry Association's annual February exhibition, where representatives held a sampling booth of the products. Other promotional partners include bracelet-maker Colantotte, Dr Pepper, Farmers Insurance, Harley-Davidson, Hershey, Land O'Frost lunchmeats, Oracle, Red Baron pizza, Symantec, Visa, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. In total, Marvel and its parent-company Disney secured an estimated $100 million in worldwide marketing support for the film. Notable exclusions include Baskin-Robbins, Burger King, and Dunkin' Donuts, who had partnered with Marvel in the past when their films were distributed by Paramount; Disney does not generally promote through fast food outlets.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: A video game based on the film was planned for concurrent release. The game was to be a first-person shooter/brawler for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows and published by THQ, with THQ Studio Australia developing the console versions and Blue Tongue Entertainment the PC version. After THQ closed both studios, the game was canceled. Intellectual property rights for an Avengers video game reverted to Marvel, which said it was exploring potential publishing and licensing opportunities.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In May 2012, Ubisoft and Marvel Entertainment announced that they were partnering to develop a motion-controlled game titled "" for the Wii U and Xbox 360 Kinect. The game was inspired by the "Secret Invasion" storyline and features 20 different characters. Marvel also announced a four-chapter mobile game titled "Avengers Initiative", with one chapter focusing on each of Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In February 2012, Disney announced that the film's title would be changed in the United Kingdom to avoid confusion with the British TV series of the same name, as well as its 1998 film adaptation. This led to confusion over the film's actual title. "Empire" magazine reported that the film would be titled "Marvel Avengers Assemble" while "The Hollywood Reporter" said that it would be called simply "Avengers Assemble". Marvel's UK website refers to the film as "Marvel's Avengers Assemble", although David Cox of "The Guardian", in arguing that it was one of the worst film titles ever, considered this to be an error in the production notes, albeit grammatically clearer. According to the British Board of Film Classification and the Irish Film Classification Office, the title is "Marvel Avengers Assemble". Frank Lovece in FilmFestivalTraveler.com addressed the discrepancy, writing, ""The Avengers" — formally titled "Marvel's The Avengers" onscreen, though no apostrophe-s appears on [the posters]". Producer Kevin Feige said there are only two words in the UK title, one more than in the U.S. title, and stated that "decisions like that aren't made lightly and there are lots of marketing research, lawyers and things that get into the mix on it".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film's world premiere was April 11, 2012, at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre. "The Avengers" closed the 11th Annual Tribeca Film Festival with a screening on April 28. The film received an expanded one-week theatrical push for the 2012 U.S. Labor Day weekend, increasing the number of theaters from 123 to 1,700. "The Avengers" was the last film released in of the MCU.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and digital download on September 25 in the United States and as early as August 29 in various international markets. Producer Kevin Feige said the Blu-ray features a new Marvel One-Shot titled "Item 47" (2012) and "a number of deleted scenes and a few storylines that fell by the wayside during the editing process" including "a few more scenes with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill, played by Cobie Smulders" and "some slightly different versions of Maria Hill and Nick Fury's interaction with the World Security Council".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film was also collected in a 10-disc box set titled "" which includes all of the Phase One films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on April 2, 2013. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on Ultra HD Blu-ray on August 14, 2018.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Some fans have criticized the UK DVD and Blu-ray release for omitting Joss Whedon's audio commentary, and for altering the scene involving Phil Coulson's death from the film's theatrical version. Disney's UK division said the "less graphic depiction of Agent Coulson's confrontation with Loki" occurred because "[e]ach country has its own compliance issues relative to depictions of violence. Unfortunately, another region's elements were inadvertently used to create the UK in-home release".


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: Upon its first week of release on home media in the U.S., the film topped the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales, as well as the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart with 72% of unit sales coming from Blu-ray, a record for a new release in which both the DVD and Blu-ray formats were released simultaneously.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: "The Avengers" grossed $623.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $895.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.519 billion, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing film of 2012, the highest-grossing comic book adaptation, the highest-grossing superhero film, and the highest-grossing film ever released by Walt Disney Studios, at the time of its release. The film's worldwide opening of $392.5 million was the fourth-largest. "The Avengers" also became the fifth film distributed by Disney and the twelfth film overall to earn more than $1 billion. It reached this milestone in 19 days, matching the record previously set by "Avatar" (2009) and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" (2011). Its grosses exceeded its estimated $220 million production cost 12 days after its release. It was the first Marvel production to generate $1 billion in ticket sales.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film became the third-highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing film of 2012, the highest-grossing film distributed by Disney, the highest-grossing superhero film, and the highest-grossing film based on comics. It opened Friday, May 4, 2012, on around 11,800 screens across 4,349 theaters, and earned $80.8 million, marking the second-biggest opening and second-biggest single-day gross. The film's Friday gross included an $18.7 million midnight run, a record for a superhero film Without midnight grosses, the film earned the largest opening-day gross ($62.1 million). It also set a Saturday- and Sunday-gross record ($69.6 million and $57.1 million respectively). In total, it earned a total of $207,438,708 for its debut weekend, setting an opening-weekend record, including an IMAX opening-weekend record of $15.3 million and a record for opening-weekend grosses originating from 3D showings ($108 million). The opening-weekend audience was evenly split among those under and over the age of 25, with 60% of the audience male, 55% couples, 24% families, and 21% teenagers. Earning $103.1 million on its second weekend, the film set a record for the largest second-weekend gross. Other records set by the film include the biggest weekend per-theater average for a wide release ($47,698 per theater), the fastest film to reach $100 million and each additional $50 million through $550 million, and the largest cumulative gross through every day of release until, and including, its forty-third day (with the exception of its first day). It remained in first place at the box office for three consecutive weekends. The film set a record for the highest monthly share, with its $532.5 million total (through May 31, 2012) accounting for 52% of the total earnings at the box office during May.


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The film became the third-highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing Disney-distributed film, the highest-grossing film of 2012, and the highest-grossing superhero film. It opened Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in 10 countries, earning $17.1 million. It opened in 29 more countries on April 26 and 27, earning $73.1 million in three days. Through Sunday, April 29, it earned an opening-weekend total of $185.1 million from 39 countries. It was in first place at the box office for four consecutive weekends. The film set opening-day records in New Zealand, Malaysia, and Iceland, a single-day record in the Philippines, as well as both single- and opening-day records in Singapore and in Thailand. It also earned the second-highest-grossing opening day in Australia ($6.2 million), behind "Deathly Hallows – Part 2", in Mexico, in the Philippines, and in Vietnam. It set opening-weekend records in many territories, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Peru, and Central America. It also earned the second largest five-day opening in Australia ($20.2 million).


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: In the United Kingdom, the film earned £2.5 million ($4.1 million) on its opening day and £15.8 million ($25.7 million) during the weekend, setting an opening-weekend record for a superhero film. It became the market's highest-grossing superhero film. In Latin America, it became the highest-grossing film ($207 million) and the first film to earn more than $200 million. It also became the highest-grossing film in the Philippines, in Singapore, and in Indonesia. , the film's top international markets were China ($83million), United Kingdom ($80.5million), Brazil ($63.9million), Mexico ($61.7million), and Australia ($54.5million).


title: The Avengers (2012 film)

text: The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of , with an average score of , based on reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Thanks to a script that emphasizes its heroes' humanity and a wealth of superpowered set pieces, "The Avengers" lives up to its hype and raises the bar for Marvel at the movies." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100 based on 43 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" grade on an "A+ to F" scale.