Two new movies ventured into theaters this weekend. One burst onto the scene with the kind of energy worthy of a summer kick-off blockbuster; the other snuck in as a sweet treat for Mother's Day that only just made the top ten.
Iron Man 2 was easily the biggest release of the year to date, but apart from topping the opening weekend sales of its predecessor it didn't rock any other financial records. Iron Man launched the summer of 2008 to the tune of $98 million, making Iron Man 2's $133 million opening a hefty sequel victory.
But Tony Stark, while topping his own performance, couldn't outperform other major sequels for the biggest opening title. Iron Man 2 scored fifth in that overall category, falling behind action heroes like Batman (Dark Knight, $158 million), Spider-Man (Spider-Man 3, $151 million), Captain Jack Sparrow (POTC:Dead Man's Chest, $135 million) and even Edward and Jacob (Twilight: New Moon, $142 million).
One area where Iron Man made strides was the IMAX theater. His sequel banked $10 million on the big-big screen, topping Star Trek's $8.5 million IMAX bow last summer.
The endearing, engaging and quickly celebrated Babies opened to much less fan fare. Showing in just 500 theaters, the documentary which shows a year in the life of four internationally diverse infants banked $1.5 million for its Mother's Day weekend debut. While that was barely enough to sneak in the number ten spot, it adds up to the second highest per-theater take in the top ten chart. Not bad for a film whose dialogue is little more than baby talk.
For the full top ten details, check out the chart below:
