There was no doubt that Iron Man was going to perform well on its opening weekend, as it marketing was done very well, and buzz reached the right level at the right time. But I didn't think we were going to see it surpass the $100 million mark as it did, as it brought in $104.25 million, to become the 10th biggest opener in box office history.
Along with the marketing, I think there was also a couple other factors involved. One was the pent up demand from the lack of engaging films over the first four months of 2008, as well as people choosing to stay close to home for their entertainment with the uncertainty of the economy and tight credit markets.
What was especially impressive of the Iron Man performance, is he was a much lessor known character than others like Spider-Man, and still was able to garner these types of numbers. Iron Man opened in 4,105 venues and averaged $24,543. The film cost about $225 million to produce and market.
Marvel (NYSE:MVL) is breathing a sigh of relief, as it self-financed the film; the first time they've done that. Paramount acted solely as marketer and distributor.
We could see a stronger summer box office than expected if people decide the spend the summer closer to home, and make going to the movies their entertainment of choice.
Coming in second for the weekend was Made of Honor, which was made to be an alternative choice to Iron Man. It did an ok $15.5 million at 2,729 venues.
Ending in the third place spot was Baby Mama, also looking at the same alternative audience Made of Honor was. It finished the weekend at $10.3 million; a 41 percent drop from its first-place finish of $17.4 million last weekend. Not too bad when considering the competition.
Even with the strong showing this weekend, it didn't come close to last year's total of $181.3 million, as it brought in $151.1 million.
Next weekend will be interesting, as Speed Racer, another unknown character to the general population, will debut. The Wachowski brothers - Andy and Larry - attempting to make their comeback, probably won't do it with this film.
Top 10 at weekend box office:
| 1 | Iron Man | $100,750,000 |
| 2 | Made of Honor | $15,500,000 |
| 3 | Baby Mama | $10,332,000 |
| 4 | Forgetting Sarah Marshall | $6,132,000 |
| 5 | Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | $6,015,000 |
| 6 | The Forbidden Kingdom | $4,200,000 |
| 7 | Nim's Island | $2,750,000 |
| 8 | Prom Night (2008) | $2,500,000 |
| 9 | 21 | $2,100,000 |
| 10 | 88 Minutes | $1,600,000 |
Other Box Office Sites:
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