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Iron Man
was pure gold at the box office.
The
Marvel Comics adaptation, starring Robert Downey Jr. as
the guy in the metal suit, hauled in $100.7 million
during its opening weekend and $104.2 million since
debuting Thursday night, the second-best premiere ever
for a nonsequel, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The film
also scored overseas with $96.7 million in 57 countries
where it began opening Wednesday, putting its worldwide
total at $201 million.
The
movie, distributed by
Paramount,
is the first release by Marvel Studios, which has begun
financing its own productions after such studio-backed
hits as the Spider-Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four
flicks.
THE
first self-produced Marvel Comics property, Iron Man,
with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role, got Marvel
Studios off to a rousing great start opening at No. 1
with a global haul of $200 million-plus.
“We
could not have hoped for a better way for Marvel Studios
to blast off,” said David Maisel, chairman of the unit,
a division of Marvel Entertainment, which stands to pull
in a greater share of box-office receipts and
merchandising money by financing movies itself.
Debuting
in second place with $15.5 million was Sony’s romantic
comedy Made of Honor, starring Grey’s Anatomy
heartthrob Patrick Dempsey as a man who tries to woo his
best pal after she asks him to be “maid of honor” at her
wedding.
Iron
Man,
which won rave reviews from many critics, features
Downey as billionaire arms designer Tony Stark, a boozy
womanizer who builds a high-tech suit and becomes a
superhero, mending his ways after he’s taken captive and
sees firsthand the devastation his weapons cause.
The film
is directed by Jon Favreau, and also stars Gwyneth
Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard.
Despite
the huge Iron Man opening, Hollywood’s overall
business was down compared with the same weekend last
year, when Spider-Man 3 had a record debut of
$151.1 million. The top 12 movies took in $154.1
million, off 15 percent from a year ago.
“Nonetheless, Iron Man did better than expected,”
said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker
Media By Numbers. “This is certainly the shot in the arm
the marketplace has needed.”
Movie
attendance this year is running 6-percent behind that of
2007, so the arrival of Iron Man may jump-start
the box office as the busy summer season begins.
“If that
first May movie is a big hit, it tends to lead to a big
summer,” said Rob Moore, Paramount vice chairman. “There
hadn’t been a big event movie yet this year. So you have
the first event movie of summer, and people go ‘And I
hear it’s really good. All right, I’m in.’”
Iron Man
was the 10th-biggest opening of all time and the fourth
biggest for a superhero movie. Among nonsequels, it came
in behind only the first Spider-Man, which
premiered with $114.8 million.
“If we
have to, we’re happy to come in second to another Marvel
property,” Maisel said. “It emphasizes how lucky we are
to have such a powerful brand that’s not loved by just
comic-book fans but also general movie fans.”
The next
Marvel production arrives in June with The Incredible
Hulk, distributed by Universal and starring Edward
Norton.
In
limited release, David Mamet’s martial-arts drama
Redbelt opened solidly with $68,646 in six theaters.
Released by Sony Pictures Classics, Redbelt stars
Chiwetel Ejiofor as an honorable instructor caught up in
corruption in the world of mixed martial-arts
competitions.
Paramount Vantage’s Son of Rambow, a comic tale
of two British boys making their own Rambo movie, also
opened well with $52,549 in five theaters.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US
and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers Llc.
1. Iron
Man, $100.7 million
2. Made
of Honor, $15.5 million
3. Baby
Mama, $10.3 million
4.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $6.1 million
5.
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantánamo Bay, $6 million
6. The
Forbidden Kingdom, $4.2 million
7. Nim’s
Island, $2.8 million
8. Prom
Night, $2.5 million
9. 21,
$2.1 million
10. 88
Minutes, $1.6 million
--AP |
