'Iron Man' Should Keep Flying High
Posted on: Friday, 9 May 2008, 03:00 CDT
By Greg Hernandez
This is a no-brainer.
"Iron Man" will keep flying high this weekend and will beat the stuffing out of any new box office competition, including the live- action version of "Speed Racer" and the romantic comedy "What Happens in Vegas."
The superhero flick, starring Robert Downey Jr., has been an absolute sensation, grossing $120 million through Wednesday, its seventh day of release. It should bag another $55 million to $60 million this weekend as it stomps its way to becoming one of the summer's biggest hits. A sequel is already being planned - of course.
BATTLE FOR SECOND: I watched "Speed Racer" cartoons as a kid and even remember the theme song. But the movie adaptation of the old TV fave hasn't been getting the kind of buzz of "Iron Man" or next week's "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."
But the movie will easily take second place and could gross as much as $35million. It bowed today in 3,600 theaters and stars Emile Hirsch,
Matthew Fox and Christina Ricci.
Then there's "Vegas," starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz as a man and woman who get drunk in Vegas, get married, and then wake up with only divorce on their minds. Things get complicated when they win a multimillion-dollar jackpot.
The trailers look funny even if I feel like I've seen it all before. Kutcher has had success in this genre with "Just Married," but the real draw has to be Diaz, who shined in "My Best Friend's Wedding,""There's Something About Mary,""The Sweetest Thing" and "The Holiday."
I predict a third-place debut of at least $20 million.
HOLDOVERS: "Vegas" will cause "Made of Honor" to take a big hit in its second week, so the best finish the Patrick Dempsey romantic comedy can hope for is fourth place. It could gross about $8 million in its fall from second place.
With the theaters getting more crowded, the box office fortunes of the comedies "Baby Mama" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" will continue to diminish, and they will be fortunate to finish in the $5 million range.
EXPANDING: The action drama "Redbelt" expanded into about 1,000 theaters today and will be vying for a top-five finish. If it can gross $6 million or more, it has a chance. The well-reviewed comedy "Son of Rambow" is now in 30 locations, and the Helen Hunt-directed "Then She Found Me" has expanded to more than 100 theaters. Hunt stars in and co-wrote this charming movie along with Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick.
(c) 2008 Press-Telegram Long Beach, CA.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Press-Telegram Long Beach, CA.
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