‘Speed Racer’ can’t catch ‘Iron Man’

“Speed Racer” was lapped in its opening weekend at the box office as “Iron Man” continued to fire its jets with $50.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The anime-inspired race movie edged into the No. 2 spot with $20.2 million, slightly ahead of the 20th Century Fox comedy “What Happens in Vegas,” which premiered at $20 million.

“Our tracking was stalled toward the end,” Dan Fellman, president of Warner Bros. theatrical distribution, said about market surveys before the “Speed Racer” opening.

Fellman said “Speed Racer” would have difficulty recouping its $120-million budget.

“Unfortunately it didn’t perform to our expectations,” he said.

“Speed Racer” was made by the Wachowski brothers, best known for the “Matrix” franchise, and was panned by many film critics.

“What Happens in Vegas,” a romantic comedy that cost $35 million and stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, shot the gap between the action flicks, said Chris Aronson, senior vice president at Fox.

“We were sandwiched between the comic book movie of ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Speed Racer,’ ” Aronson said. “We come along with a character-driven movie in what is now considered summer and it’s just a great result.”

Sales for Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man” slipped just 49% in its second week in theaters, a respectable showing considering its massive opening, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media by Numbers.

“ ‘Iron Man’ is basically pulling everybody’s audience. It’s really dominating the marketplace,” he said.

Five of the top 10 grossing movies were comedies, including Sony Pictures’ “Made of Honor,” which took in $7.6 million in its second week for fourth place.

The weekend’s total domestic box-office gross was $128 million, up 21% from the same weekend last year. But year-to-date revenue was still down 2.5% at $2.93 billion, while attendance was off 5.3%.

Over the next few weeks, several big movies will take a shot at knocking “Iron Man” off its perch, starting with “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” opening Friday, and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” on May 22.

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Box-office results

Estimated ticket sales for May 9-11 at U.S. and Canadian theaters. Final figures will be released today.

1. “Iron Man,” $50.5 million

2. “Speed Racer,” $20.2 million

3. “What Happens in Vegas,” $20 million

4. “Made of Honor,” $7.6 million

5. “Baby Mama,” $5.8 million

6. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” $3.8 million

7. “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” $3.2 million

8. “The Forbidden Kingdom,” $1.9 million

9. “Nim’s Island,” $1.3 million

10. “Redbelt,” $1.1 million

Source: Media by Numbers

Los Angeles Times