Iron Man Blasts Box Office

Published by Jeff Leins on May 4, 2008

Paramount and Marvel Studio’s Iron Man made an estimated $100.8 million from Friday to Sunday, rocketing it into the top ten openings of all time. Another $3.5 million was earned in early screenings late Thursday night, giving it a total so far of $104 million domestically.

The superhero movie was 10th all-time in weekend openings and 8th for a May debut. The records for each of those categories are all held by last year’s Spider-Man 3.

Traditionally, blockbuster sequels make more than their originals, so Iron Man’s performance as a non-sequel/new hero is that much more impressive. This is the second best opening for a non-sequel behind the original Spidey.

Overseas Tony Stark fared just as well, making $96.8 million from 57 territories. This brings Iron Man’s total gross worldwide to somewhere around $201 million.

The film was self-financed by Marvel Studios for $140 million, so it might be a success. I’ll have to recheck the numbers.

The other wide opener, Made of Honor, bowed below expectations. It only made $15.5 million when it should have cleaned up the remaining female audience.

Baby Mama had a healthy drop of 40% to third place with $10.3 million over the weekend. Its total is over $32 million and over its $30 mil budget.

With positive word of mouth, Forgetting Sarah Marshall maintained fourth place with $6.1 million as Harold and Kumar 2 plummeted past it to fifth with $6 million.

Indie Sundance favorite Son of Rambow made $52,500 on 5 screens.

1. Iron Man $100.8 million
2. Made of Honor $15.5 million
3. Baby Mama $10.3 million
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall $6.1 million
5. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay $6 million
6. The Forbidden Kingdom $4.2 million
7. Nim’s Island $2.8 million
8. Prom Night $2.5 million
9. 21 $2.1 million
10. 88 Minutes $1.6 million