Iron Man 2 rules again at box office
Coming off its mammoth launch, Iron Man 2 easily held onto its lead of the North American box office despite posting a hefty decline. Falling far more steeply than its predecessor, the superhero sequel amassed $52.0 million bringing its domestic gross to a solid $211 million. This represents a dip of 59 percent which is common amongst front-loaded summer blockbusters. The original Iron Man fell a remarkably low 48 percent in its sophomore frame, nearly matching its sequel with $51.2 million on its way to $318 million.
Robin Hood was a bit more wary than merry, but collected $36.1 million for an excellent $10,295 average. Overseas held the real reward for the Russell Crowe/Ridley Scott collaboration, where it grossed $74 million for an early worldwide tally of $110 million. This is a promising beginning for a film boasting a price tag of over $200 million for Universal, but good legs will be needed to make the movie a bonafide success.
- Iron Man 2 - $52.0 M (weekend) … $211.2 M (gross)
- Robin Hood - $36.0 M … $36.0 M
- Letters to Juliet - $13.5 M … $13.5 M
- Just Wright - $8.2 M … $8.2 M
- A Nightmare on Elm Street - $4.7 M … $56.0 M
- How to Train Your Dragon - $5.0 M … $207.6 M
- Date Night – 3.8 M … $86.5 M
- The Back-Up Plan - $2.4 M … $34.1 M
- Furry Vengeance - $2.2 M … $15.0 M
- Clash of the Titans - $1.2 M … $160.1 M
Next in a trio of openers, Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfried placed third with $13.5 million, boasting a so-so average of $4,562. In fourth place, Just Wright, led by two rappers -- Queen Latifah and Common -- posted a nearly identical average of $4,525 equating to a gross of $8.2 million.
In fifth, the lizard with legs How to Train Your Dragon saw another minuscule decline of 25 percent gobbling up $5 million for a domestic tally of $207.6 million. “Dragon” is now a mere $8 million away from becoming Dreamworks animations biggest non-Shrek hit. That record is currently held by Kung Fu Panda which kicked up $215.4 million back in 2008.
The top ten films were up just one percent from last years numbers when Angels & Demons opened on top with $46.2 million.
