Here's a near iron-clad
certainty for this weekend's boxoffice: "Iron Man" will fly to
No. 1 -- again.
Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer," a live-action adaptation of
the classic Japanese cartoon series, opens in saturation
release this weekend. Fox's romantic comedy "What Happens in
Vegas," starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz, also unspools
wide. But neither new film appears to be a match for the
high-grossing holdover from Paramount and Marvel.
"Iron Man" won the weekend laurels with $98.6 million
during its first Friday-Sunday frame and should fetch $45
million to $50 million during its sophomore session.
"Speed Racer," directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, has
been tracking softly and could bow with less than $30 million.
"Vegas" probably will gross slightly more than $20 million and
nab third place for the weekend, after "Iron Man" and "Speed
Racer."
Rated PG, "Speed Racer" stars Emile Hirsch ("Into the
Wild") and targets family audiences more than the PG-13 "Iron
Man." The Warners film has been tracking best with older women
-- meaning moms -- so that bodes well for the distributor's
strategy of targeting moviegoers less likely to be heading to
"Iron Man," particularly on the Mother's Day weekend.
But it had better make its family moolah quickly. Disney
debuts its highly anticipated family sequel "The Chronicles of
Narnia: Prince Caspian" on May 16.
This weekend Warners execs also hope to draw some patrons
who already caught "Iron Man." But with a breakout hit like the
Paramount film, repeat business will be significant.
"We have seen a really strong interest among families, and
that's our target," Warners distribution president Dan Fellman
said. "So hopefully they will show up."
Audiences recruited for survey screenings have given "Speed
Racer" favorable marks, Fellman added.
Fox staged 309 sneak previews of "Vegas" on Saturday night,
filling auditoriums to a promising 70 percent capacity.
"We're looking forward to a good weekend," Fox distribution
president Bruce Snyder said.
Also this weekend, Paramount Vantage rolls out David
Mamet's "Redbelt" to 1,379 locations. The martial arts drama
debuted in six Los Angeles and New York theaters, grossing
$63,361, or a solid $10,560 per venue.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
In Theaters 
