“Iron Man,”
the comic book-based film that opened this weekend in the US theaters, was up to everyone’s
expectations.
The movie,
which was released through Paramount, opened strong on Friday, earning
$32,500,000 in ticket sales after it was premiered in 4,105 theaters and, at
the end of the weekend, it occupies the first place in the Weekend BoxOffice
Mojo top, with earnings of $100,750,000.
The astonishing special effects, galloping action and
extremely amusing moments, which made the film entertaining equally for
kids and grown-ups, apparently did a good job.
However, the movie failed to match the record of „Spider-Man,”
which opened in May 2002 and earned $114.800,000 million in its first weekend.
Enjoying many favorable reviews, “Iron Man” boosted the
career of Robert Downey Jr., who plays the role of a billionaire weapons
manufacturer which turns himself into a superhero, after being kidnapped by terrorists
in Afghanistan.
An interesting feature of this film is that the hero does not
become a hero accidentally, but through his own genius. Moviegoers are fed up
of heroes that become heroes by chance. Spider bites and genetic
transformations are so out of the season, as self-determination is more of the
latest trend and Iron Man is a self-made hero! This could also explain
the movie’s success.
“Made of Honor,” which also opened this weekend, ranked
second in the box office top, with $15,500,000
in ticket sales.
Directed by Paul Weiland, and co-written by debutant Adam
Sztykiel and Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, “Made of Honor” is a
romantic comedy that did not receive too many favorable reviews. It tells the
story of Tom (Patrick Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), who are best
friends until Hannah gets engaged and Tom realizes he is madly in love with
her. The movie borrowed elements from several romantic movies and, despite its
funny moments, it was considered too predictable.
Last weekend’s champion, “Baby Mama,” in which Tina Fey
plays a career woman who feels that her biological clock ceased ticking subtly
and is on the verge of ringing, ranked third with $10,332,000, while “Forgetting Sarah
Marshall,” directed by debutant Nicholas Stoller, occupied the fourth
position, with $6,132,000. The latter is
a comedy rated R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity,
with a rare display of full-frontal male nudity.
“Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” is on the fifth
spot, with $6,015,000 in ticket sales,
followed by „The Forbidden Kingdom,” the kung fu movie that reunites
Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
The seventh position is occupied by the children’s favorite,
„Nim’s Island,” with $2,750,000, while “Prom Night”, a PG-13 remake of a 1980
horror film, made it again in the top 10, on the eighth place, grossing $2,500,000.
The last two places are taken by a couple of films involving
numbers: “21,” which still managed to attract the moviegoers and earned $2,100,000, and, respectively, „88 Minutes,”
the story of a Seattle university professor and forensics expert, who is
threatened to be killed in 88 minutes.
Other films that made it in the Top 20 are „Horton Hears a Who,”
„Deception,” „Drillbit Taylor” and „Leatherheads.”
