| Film | Weekend | Per Screen | Total | |
| 1 | Iron Man | $50,500,000 (-48.8%) | $12,284 | $177,134,000 |
| 2 | Speed Racer | $20,210,000 | $5,604 | $20,210,000 |
| 3 | What Happens in Vegas | $20,000,000 | $6,220 | $20,000,000 |
| 4 | Made of Honor | $7,600,000 (-48.5%) | $2,779 | $26,275,000 |
| 5 | Baby Mama | $5,766,000 (-42.7%) | $2,194 | $40,377,000 |
| 6 | Forgetting Sarah Marshall | $3,778,000 (-37.7%) | $1,590 | $50,772,000 |
| 7 | Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | $3,155,000 (-48.4%) | $1,393 | $30,716,000 |
| 8 | The Forbidden Kingdom | $1,900,000 (-54.6%) | $1,102 | $48,261,000 |
| 9 | Nim’s Island | $1,325,000 (-50.5%) | $827 | $44,257,000 |
| 10 | Redbelt | $1,140,000 (+1,699.2%) | $826 | $1,237,000 |
This just in: A McPhever is no joke, and has proven to be as fatal as Aiken’s disease. If you think you have the symptoms, don’t walk, run. Run as fast as you can.
When it comes to sex, I’m similar to the thrilla in Manilla. And when it comes to tracking re: kids movies, you never know. Sadly, for Speed Racer that is, tracking was more acurate than expected. Hindsight being 20/20 and all (that is to say, betting against Rocky: bad idea), the failure of Speed Racer should have been easier to peg. It wasn’t adult enough for the critics, and was not marketed to children as well as it should have been. Perhaps the look was just too much for many parents. Strangely, this weeknd hasn’t proved all that renumerative for Warner Brothers, but it’s their weekend. Troy did all right in 2004, but Poseidon flopped in the same weekend. Still, it’s always good to be hopeful. But with Prince Caspian opening next weekend, the only respite for the film is that it will still be on screens until at least Sex and the City. It’d be nice if a film could find an audience, but that’s not going to happen. Making due with a grand total around $60 is as good as it gets for the film. That said, with all the round numbers being posited here, Speed Racer may actually take third when all is said and done, and those numbers will likely drop for the top three.
In more positive news, Iron Man held the top slot and came in under a 50% drop. That means audiences liked it, and getting near $300 is likely, and it should be going into Memorial Day weekend somewhere around $225-$230. Post-Memorial, there may not be much left, but it should clear $250 without too much effort, and if Paramount wants to limp it near $300, they just might be able to. Might.
What Happens in Vegas did what everyone expected it to, though it will likely recoup through DVD and ancilaries. It’s a two-base hit of an opening, but that has everything to do with the expectations for such a film, which were very low. Where Redbelt may have astronomically increased it’s revenue, the per-screen is terrible, and so it won’t be a crossover hit at all. People like fighting, but the pedigree fails it. Pray for The Wackness. Otherwise, things are in the top ten because there are ten movies to list. Made of Honor could get to $40, but I’m the only who cares about that. Mostly because it draws more attention to my Dwayne Wayne fan-fic.
Prince Caspian should be a performer, though it’s the sort of film that I’m sure most of the Chud readers could care less about. It might do better business simply because there’s nothing else new around. Disney is well positioned on that front. And then Indy swings in. Hrm.