‘Iron Man 2’ as money machine -- it’s already made $100 million overseas
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“IRON MAN 2” COUNTDOWN: 5 DAYS
Tony Stark breaks all the rules (even the one that says superheroes must keep a secret identity), and he always seems to come out on top -- that’s why we love him. But now comes “Iron Man 2,” a film about secret dangers, the sins of the father and the nasty price of modern celebrity. The movie lands Wednesday in the U.S., and every day until then, we’ll have behind-the-scenes scoops on the summer’s most anticipated film.
Ben Fritz of Company Town finds the bottom line on “Iron Man 2” overseas...
Tony Stark didn’t need Americans to make his first $100 million.
In a rare occurrence of domestic moviegoers having to wait for a Hollywood event movie, “Iron Man 2” debuted in most foreign countries this weekend ahead of its U.S. launch on Friday and took in a very strong $100.2 million. That’s 26% more than the original “Iron Man” opened to in the same 53 foreign markets in 2008, according to distributor Paramount Pictures, and a likely precursor to a huge domestic debut next weekend.
Although impressive, the foreign opening of “Iron Man 2” is not among the all-time biggest, ranking behind mega-successes including some “Harry Potter” pictures and the biggest-ever overseas superhero film launch, “Spider-Man 3.”
Paramount decided to debut “Iron Man 2” early internationally to get ahead of June’s World Cup, which will keep many soccer fans at home watching TV, and to take advantage of the May Day holiday weekend. Domestically, the studio pushed the movie back a week to make sure it would play through the lucrative Memorial Day holiday.
THERE’S MORE, READ THE REST
-- Ben Fritz
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