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Keeping this in mind, I still don't think Iron Man 2 has garnered quite enough support to jump from $102.1 million in 2008 to $158.5 million now. I am a devout believer in the philosophy that the prior movie's quality directly buys a line of credit for the opening weekend of its successor. Such a premise is glorious news for Iron Man, one of the most triumphant features of the 2000s. It was beloved by critics and even more popular with regular movie goers. All of its box office and video sales metrics support this conclusion, just as was the case for New Moon as it expanded on the appeal of Twilight. I think that's exactly the range where Iron Man 2 is going to wind up on opening weekend and I believe that its surpassing the original's domestic take of $318.3 million borders on being a foregone conclusion.

Max Braden: I won't be happy until Iron Man 2 takes the sparkle off Pattinson's hide.



Jason Lee: If this movie (given all of the factors that David mentioned above) isn't able to add at least $30 million onto Iron Man's original opening weekend, I will be very surprised. I don't think that this film has reached a level of anticipation that The Dark Knight did in 2008, and I don't think the fervor is as high as New Moon (though this will have a much broader appeal). Breaking into the $140s should be expected, $150s would be great, $160s would be astounding.

Kim Hollis: I'm going to go against the grain here and say that it's going to take the top spot (temporarily). I'm thinking of the jump that a great movie, Batman Begins, made when it came time for an even better movie in The Dark Knight. People have gotten to know and love Tony Stark and particularly Robert Downey Jr. in the role. Marketing has been jacked up for a couple of months now. I don't think it's going to win opening weekend by a huge amount or anything, but the stage is definitely set for a spectacular performance.

David Mumpower: Kim, I will say this in support of your notion. Twilight debuted to $69.6 million, meaning that New Moon spiked $73.2 million (!) to $142.8 million, more than double its predecessor. The Dark Knight's $158.4 million represents an almost incomprehensible $109.7 million increase from the $48.7 million Batman Begins managed. Even if we use its five-day total of $72.9 million instead, the expansion is still $85.5 million. Finally, the Pirates of the Caribbean jumped from $46.6 million ($70.6 million over five days) for The Curse of the Black Pearl to a whopping $135.6 million for Dead Man's Chest, a gain of either $89.0 million or $65.0 million, depending on perspective. Ergo, there are definitely precedents in place that would allow for the fact that Iron Man could elevate its opening weekend from $102.1 million to $60 million higher. I just don't believe that is what is going to happen.

Bring back the cute cartoon.

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