Ironman Kicks Ass, Takes Names, and Smacks a Bitch

I watched it did you?  It was pretty damn good.  Friday estimate came to $38.5 million. Whats that say?  It says you should go watch it…and make sure you stay for after the credits for a sneak peak at something so awesome.

Iron Man blasted off in theaters on Friday and hauled in an estimated $33M from an ultrawide 4,105 North American theaters to officially kick off the summer blockbuster season with a bang. Add in brisk ticket sales for early shows on Thursday night starting at 8PM and the total reached $38.5M at close of business on Friday night. Robert Downey Jr. headlines the cast playing the metal man with Jon Favreau directing. Reviews were the best for any wide release this year.

The remarkable tally stands as the second biggest opening day in box office history for a non-sequel trailing only the $39.4M of fellow Marvel Comics super hero Spider-Man from this very same weekend in 2002. Tony Stark and pals edged out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone which launched in November 2001 with $32.3M on its opening Friday. That figure however, would amount to roughly $40M at today’s ticket prices. Still, Iron Man could not be in better company given that the character is not as universally known as Spider-Man, Batman, or Superman. Audience feedback has been very positive too as the Paramount release has earned a solid A- average from over 3,000 users of Yahoo Movies.

Iron Man was also in the same vicinity as X2: X-Men United which bowed this weekend in 2003 with a $31.2M Friday representing 37% of its eventual $85.6M weekend debut. Those figures at 2008 prices would translate to approximately $37M and $100M, respectively. The X-Men sequel and Iron Man both benefited from a bulit-in audience of comic fans, strong reviews, and the free and clear marketplace that the first weekend of May provides. However, X2 as a sequel had more upfront demand.

Should Iron Man follow a similar path, it could soar to $85-90M over the Friday-to-Sunday period and raise its cume to $90-95M when adding in Thursday grosses.