Sunday, May 9, 2010

Summer Box Office: Green Sabbath Edition

Weekend number two of the 2010 summer box office contest saw the release of what was widely thought to be the most lethal weapon in the summer cash hunt: John’s first pick and number one overall, “Iron Man 2,” with Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson and Don Cheadle joining stars Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow in the Jon Favreau–directed sequel to the 2008 smash, which had grossed $318 million in the U.S.

According to Sunday estimates by Box Office Mojo, the film banked $133.6 million for its opening frame, including Thursday midnight screenings. While that was good enough for the fifth-best three-day opening of all-time, according to TheWrap.com, it fell short of some observers’ (cough cough, John and Stu, cough cough) contention that it would open bigger than “The Dark Knight.”

But John is likely happy with these results, as the film should easily cruise to $300 million, even though drop-off will likely be big and hopes of a $400 million haul seem dashed.

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” scared up just over $9 million in its second weekend, for a 10-day cume of $48.5 million.

Next Friday, Dave enters the fray with the “Robin Hood” re-boot, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott, while John goes the weepy route, with “Letters to Juliet” about to hit the mail.

Here are the totals through May 9:

John (two films): $182.1 million
Dave (N/A): N/A
Robert (N/A): N/A
Stu (N/A): N/A