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'Iron Man' Pounds Rivals at Box Office

Reuters

Posted: 2008-05-11 15:26:13

Filed Under: Movie News

LOS ANGELES (May 11) - Superhero movie "Iron Man" pounded the competition at North American box offices for the second straight weekend, landing at No. 1 with $50.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The movie about a comic book hero in a high-tech suit of armor took in $12,284 per theater at 4,111 locations, and saw its total box office rise to $177 million after only about 10 days in theaters.

"Iron Man" blasted by two new entries this weekend, family adventure "Speed Racer" and romantic comedy "What Happens in Vegas," which battled for the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.

"Speed Racer" finished in the second-place spot with $20.2 million in ticket sales to $20 million for No. 3 "Vegas," according to Sunday's estimates. But those figures could change when Monday's final weekend tallies are released.

"Speed Racer" got off to a slow start for the big-budget film's backers at Warner Bros. who had high hopes the movie would prove to be a runaway hit for kids and their parents.

"We were disappointed with the results over the weekend," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros.

However, Fellman said surveys of audiences leaving theaters showed they had positive reactions to the movie about a race car driver named Speed who must stop wealthy corporations from using profits to fix races. It was made by the directors of the "Matrix," brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski.

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July 3, 2000: In response to rumors that Pink Floyd intended for their album 'Dark Side of the Moon' to be listened to while watching 'The Wizard of Oz,' DirecTV broadcasts the 1939 film classic with the landmark album in sync on the alternate Second Audio Program (SAP).

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July 5, 1986: Janet Jackson's 'Control' goes No. 1, making the 19-year-old the youngest artist to land atop the album charts since 12-year-old Little Steve Wonder in 1963.

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July 5, 1946: Designer Louis Reard unveils his greatest creation: the bikini, which he proudly calls "four triangles of nothing." The revealing garment is named after the Bikini Atoll, site of a recent nuclear bomb test, the reasoning being that such immodest clothing would inspire similar excitement.

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July 2, 1955: Years before 'TRL' or 'Friday Night Videos' gets the kids dancing, 'The Lawrence Welk Show' premiers, bringing the maestro's "champagne music" into our living rooms. He will keep heads banging for 22 seasons.

July 4, 1970: Casey Kasem celebrates America's 194th birthday by debuting his new radio show, 'American Top 40,' with the Jackson 5's 'The Love You Save' at No. 1.

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"We're hoping, optimistically, that the movie can turn it around and sustain an audience into the summer but only time will tell at this early stage," Fellman said.

While "Speed Racer" managed to claim the No. 2 spot, "Vegas" beat it on the basis of average sales per theater.

"Vegas," which stars Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz as a pair of mismatched lovers who get married after a fling in Las Vegas, pulled in $6,221 per theater in 3,215 theaters compared to $5,605 per venue in 3,606 locations for "Speed."

A spokesman for Twentieth Century Fox, which released "Vegas," called its performance a "great result" that surpassed expectations for what he said was a movie that cost a mere $35 million to make.

By contrast, "Speed Racer" was estimated to have cost $150 million to make and another $100 million to market, according to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times.

Rounding out the top 5 films this weekend were romantic comedy "Made of Honor," starring Patrick Dempsey, in the No. 4 spot with $7.6 million and a two-week total of $26.3 million.

"Made of Honor" was followed by Tina Fey comedy "Baby Mama" with an estimated tally of $5.8 million and a cumulative total of $40.4 million after three weeks in theaters.

"Iron Man" was produced by Marvel Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. "Made of Honor" was distributed by Columbia Pictures, and "Baby Mama" by Universal Pictures.

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-05-11 13:21:10

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221 comments

coop03barlowfan 09:07:55 PM May 14 2008

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I just went to see Iron Man today and it was GREAT

JPuzzleWhiz 08:16:38 PM May 12 2008

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Sdave asks, :So where was the chimp?"

It's easy to make a chimp behave in an animated cartoon, but just try to accopmlish the same thing in a LIVE ACTION movie.

Leebob182 06:38:57 PM May 12 2008

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Obama loved it.

Sdave7596 05:34:43 PM May 12 2008

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I agree with Mark Elliott - Speed Racer was not a mainstream cartoon popular with the masses of kids - it was too quirky for most - and apparently the chimp is missing from the movie?? Why?

Fred and Nancy G 05:31:28 PM May 12 2008

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it is all Bushs' fault, for speed Racer sucking.

ArchMichaelA 05:26:58 PM May 12 2008

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KATRAX SAID IT ALL. Absolute unintelligible crap from the movie Industry. These Movies for several years Suck.

KATTRAXZ 05:04:19 PM May 12 2008

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It's all garbage. G.A.R.B.A.G.E. put out by greedy movie executives who haven't a clue what a REAL movie is about. These films they are whining about are pure c.r.a.p. It astonishes me that the public will actually pay money for the "privilege" of sitting through hours of mindless, brainlessness.

M Semmes 04:58:12 PM May 12 2008

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Hey! Where's all the Democratic Oil Company haters wanting to tax these windfall profits?

MarkElliottRadio 02:37:50 PM May 12 2008

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I knew Speed Racer wouldn't do as well as they thought. The cartoon always had a small cult following that Hollywood thought was bigger than it really was. I
wouldn't call 20 million a flop though because it's go some good competition.

SMJCO 02:21:26 PM May 12 2008

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Ironman was a clean movie kids watched the show and had a blast. I agree with Hollywood sinking into the Ocean along with overpaid over exposed actors.

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221 comments