This past weekend we approached the last days of May. This month is when college students finish with finals and are set free. It is when high school students

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in MIB III (courtesy of Sony Pictures)

For these reasons and more, it is this time of the year that is used to launch the summer blockbuster season with the first few hits of the season. Most noticeable thus far is the Marvel mega-hit "The Avengers," which broke $500 million in profits this Saturday, only 23 days after its release--breaking "Avatar"'s record of 32 days. Having held the lead at the box office for an astonishing four weeks, it has finally been replaced by the third installment of the "Men in Black" franchise, starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. Even now, "The Avengers" remains in second place with $37 milion. 

While the profits earned by "The Avengers" and the lead taken by "MIB3" are both positive results, the situation is also a cause for concern. As The Collider points out, in the last several weeks, a handful of films were released that were intended to be box office hits, but instead just barely managed to lag behind "The Avengers"'s consistent success. "Battleship," "Dark Shadows," and "The Dictator," all underperformed. Memorial Day weekend, normally a field day for the box office, was relatively quiet, with "MIB3" conquering the B.O. but still not quite reaching its predicted profits. As The Collider points out, this is a sharp contrast from last year's hits, "The Hangover Part II," "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," "Thor," "Kung Fu Panda 2," and "Bridesmaids." This year, all that is being offered over the three-day weekend aside from "MIB3" is the horror flick "Chernobyl Diaries," which only earned an estimated $9.4 million. 

Despite the disappointing results at home, American cinema has been compensating through world-wide profits. While earning around $70 million in America, "MIB3" grossed $202 million globally, with China and Russia leading the foreign B.O. results. 

Of course, summer has only just begun, and it has many exciting prospects in store for the upcoming months. The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman, Brave, and The Amazing Spiderman are just some of the expected hits for the summer season. The thought of it may cause minor hyperventilation... or maybe that's just me.

You can reach reporter Sara here.