Total Earnings for "The Avengers" (Thus Far) and What It Could Mean for the Future of Marvel Studios

******SPOILERS!!!!*****
So far, after opening weekend here in America, "The Avengers" has made a total of $654,838,708. $207,438,708 of that was made in America, according to Box Office Mojo, which smashed the previous opening weekend record holder, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2". This is great news for Marvel Studios and Disney, who almost doubled their budget in the foreign market alone.  This will hopefully mean that Marvel will have bigger movie budgets to work with, as well as being able to flesh out even more of their lesser-known characters, such as Vision and Black Panther. However, I must admit that I am not without misgivings.
Marvel is going to be taking some HUGE risks during the next few years as they set up Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). With the inclusion of Thanos during the mid-credits scene and Kevin Feige having stated his intent to introduce the cosmic elements of the Marvel Universe, it seems that soon, we will have a MCU that has doubled in size. This is where my doubts set in. This will be amazing for any hardcore Marvel comics fan, but majority of the money that these films make comes from the casual audience. During my viewings of "The Avengers", I noticed that, aside from a few people in the theater of 300 or so, only about 10 gave any sign of recognition when Thanos appeared on the screen. Most had no idea who he was.  Thanos often fights against the Guardians of the Galaxy, who are getting their own movie in the coming few years. The members of the team include a telepathic dog and a three-foot-tall raccoon named Rocket Raccoon, who wields guns that are oftentimes bigger than himself. How will the casual audience react to seeing these characters onscreen, especially since these characters exist in the same universe as the likes of Captain America? The goodwill and faith that people currently have in Marvel might falter and fail once they see a talking raccoon with a bazooka. Marvel stands to lose millions of dollars with this venture, so I hope that they plan accordingly and hope that they don't bite off more than they can chew with Phase 2 of the MCU.