SATURDAY & 3-DAY ESTIMATES: 'Iron Man' w/$21.72M Sat & $51.79M for All-Time 11th-Best 2nd weekend!; 'Speed Racer' w/$7.66M Sat & disappointing $18.7M OW; 'Vegas' #3 w/$17.6M 3-day; 'Redbelt' tanks!
by Steve Mason
SATURDAY NIGHT: Robert Downey, Jr.’s superhero debut is proving to be among the biggest hits of all time. Marvel’s Iron Man (Paramount) has flown above this weekend’s expectations, adding an estimated $21.72M on Saturday, which should translate to approximately $51.79M for the 3-day. If that number holds, this will be the all-time 11th-best 2nd weekend.
Iron Man's estimated 52.5% drop is impressive when compared to the 61.5% 2nd weekend tumble suffered by last year's Spider-Man 3, opening on the same May weekend. Mission Impossible III started the Summer Blockbuster season in May 2006, and dropped only 48% on its 2nd weekend, but its opening 3-day was only $47.7M, about half of Iron Man's impressive take.
The Jon Favreau-directed franchise-starter will have pushed past $178M by Monday morning, and one of the obvious question becomes, "How high can Tony Stark fly?" In a survey of studio sources today, the consensus is that Iron Man will fall short of $300M domestic, but $275M-$280M is likely.
Speed Racer (Warner Bros) has taken to the track with a sluggish start. The Wachowskis anime adaptation has received a mixed-at-best critical reaction, and after a softer-than-expected Friday, the candy-colored CGI spectacle received a 31% Saturday bounce for an estimated $7.66M. The film appears headed for a disappointing $18.72M opening weekend, just enough to out-pace What Happens in Vegas (Fox) for 2nd place.
I have been told that Cinema Score surveys give Speed Racer a solid A-, and exit results show strong audience approval and recommend scores. The film is showing strength with family audiences and boys 12-16.
The Cameron Diaz/Ashton Kutcher comedy What Happens in Vegas received just a 5% increase day-over-day for a tick over $7M. The film will finish 3rd for the weekend with an estimated $17.6M. Holdover Made of Honor (Sony) is #4 for the 3-day with $7.29M, followed by Universal's Baby Mama with about $5.57M.
Source -
http://news.fantasymoguls.com/origin...box-offic.html