An Ironclad Weekend

Summer may not officially start until June 20th, but for millions of movie fans around the world, it started this past weekend as Iron Man raked in over $100 million at the U.S. box office, and over $200 million worldwide. In all, Iron Man proved to be the second biggest debut of a superhero franchise in history, falling short of only Spider-Man’s $114 million take back in 2002.

Iron Man received almost universally positive reviews, so it’s not known yet how much of an impact that had on the movie’s take. Speed Racer, which so far has gotten less-than-stellar reviews from those who have seen the film, opens this Friday. Its box office returns should put in perspective whether this will be a huge summer for Hollywood or if moviegoers are going to be more selective with how they spend their entertainment dollars.

Iron-fans can relax when it comes to wondering how long it will be before they see the hero on screen again – Marvel has already announced the sequel, due to hit screens in the Summer of 2010.