Going in to the weekend, the question wasn’t whether or not “Iron Man 2” would open at number one, but how much it would earn in the top spot.
The sequel opened to a box-office draw of $133. 6 million over the weekend. Factor in that the film also took in $10 million on IMAX screens and has been a huge hit worldwide and it all adds up to box-office gold for Tony Stark and company.
“It’s a tremendous opening for a regular weekend,” when kids are still in school, says Don Harris, Paramount’s executive vice president of distribution.
One surprise was the number of female fans (40%). “It’s the Robert Downey Jr. factor,” Harris says. He also expects ‘Iron Man 2’ to remain popular with moviegoers, given its strong performance with men and woman across all age groups.
In a distant second was last week’s top box office film, “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” Freddy scared up $9.2 million in box office sales.
“How to Train Your Dragon” earned $6.8 million for third and brought its total to $201.1 million. “Date Night” ($5.3 million) and “The Back-up Plan” ($4.3 million) rounded out the top five.
I find it kind of insulting that a strong female audience is attributed to ‘the RDJr Factor’…
I concur, as if the strong female audience couldn’t go for the Iron Man factor. Girls/Women read comics too. Sheeshh.