'Iron Man 3' debuts with $175 million, second-highest opening ever after 'The Avengers'

With a jackpot opening of $175.3 million, Iron Man 3 was second only to the $200 million opening of The Avengers, which also featured Tony Stark--plus a bunch of other superheroes. Stark, as played by Robert Downey Jr., is clearly the most popular of the bunch, and that was reflected in the box-office returns. Now that the opening is secured, the rest of the run is already a bit of science. Domestically, the film will end up somewhere above $400 million and a bit under $500 million. Overseas, where the sequel has earned over $500 million, total returns could be $700 million or higher--especially since foreign markets like China are expanding. One thing's clear: It's only a matter of time before Iron Man 3 tops $1 billion in returns.

With Iron Man 3 dominating the box office, most other movies dropped sharply. The worst hit were releases with an action, macho-y feel, like Pain & Gain (down 62%), Oblivion (down 67%), and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (down 65%). Family fare did better, with Oz the Great and Powerful actually going up .6% to $1.8 million, and The Croods dropping 37% to $4.2 million.

Specialty fare also had some bright spots. Mud ascended into the top ten, earning $2.1 million in seventh place while dipping just 3% from last week. The Place Beyond the Pines held on in tenth place, accruing $1.2 million as business dropped by half from the previous week.

The Iceman, which is led by Michael Shannon, averaged $23,000 per
screen at four locations, an extremely strong opening that suggests the
indie will have an excellent specialty run.

A documentary for lovers of fashion and Manhattan retailers Bergdorf Goodman, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's averaged $9,800 per screen in four locations. That's a solid opening for an indie doc, but if you were to spend that much at Bergdorf's, it would only be enough to buy a few Birkin bags.

While Iron Man 3 clearly delivered with its blockbuster weekend, a busy May means there will be tough competition ahead that may affect how long the movie plays. The first real competition will be two weeks from now, when Star Trek Into Darkness opens. This Friday, The Great Gatsby will go after an audience seeking a different kind of epic experience, while Tyler Perry-produced Peeples will insert a comedy into the mix.

'Blue Valentine' and 'Another Year' make their end-of-the-year debut

By Sarah Sluis

Plenty of audiences should turn out for the final box-office weekend of the year, but that will still leave numbers for 2010 down as a whole. Blockbusters like Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland and Iron Man 3 attracted audiences to the tune of $300-400 million, but the number one film of 2010 was a 2009 release: Avatar. James Cameron's blue-tinged alien film earned $476 million in the 2010 half of its release, putting it $50 million above Toy Story 3.

Yesterday, two specialty films bowed in order to qualify for consideration at this year's awards season. The English director Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky) turns out the thoughtful Another Year (six theatres), which shows him in a "mellow, seasonal mood," according to critic David Noh. This is the kind of film that requires a bit of effort to get through, but Leigh creates incredibly true-to-life characters with spot-on dialogue with psychological complexity.

One of my top ten films of 2010, Blue Valentine released yesterday in four theatres with an R rating, the result of a successful appeal of the MPAA's original decision to brand the movie with an NC-17. Critic Erica Abeel called the story of a couple falling out of love "remarkable for its honesty and power." Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling star opposite each other, and both were nominated for acting Golden Globes, a sign that they may also turn up in contention for Oscar statuettes.

With many out for winter holidays, the weekday box office has been strong. On Monday, many films dropped under 10%, compared to the 70-80% seen during non-holiday weeks. In fact, many kid-driven titles saw gains over Monday and Tuesday. The adult comedy Little Fockers is still in first place but has also dropped the most. There's a chance Tron: Legacy may take the lead over the weekend. True Grit has staked out third place, and specialty films like Black Swan, The Fighter, and The King's Speech have moved into the top ten.

Screener will be dark tomorrow, and resume for a box-office recap on Monday. See you in 2011!