Latest box office news from the web's leading movie box office web site http://www.the-numbers.com http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3398 Last week Iron Man scared away nearly all competition. This week is entirely different with more than a dozen films, including a few opening up here in Canada. However, while there's a wide selection, none seem destined to expand wide. In fact, there are more that feel like they should have gone direct-to-DVD than there are that feel like they have a 50% shot at significant expansion. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3397 This week's round of new casting information contains updates for The Avengers, Iron Man 2, Push, and more! ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3396 The weekend before Memorial Day long weekend is one of the best weekends to open a movie. That's the weekend The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is opening and that film is this week's target movie. Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going over, will win Exes and Ohs - The Complete First Season, Revolver on DVD, and Teeth on DVD. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), without going under, will win Exes and Ohs - The Complete First Season and Revolver on DVD Additionally, one additional entrant will be chosen at random to win Exes and Ohs - The Complete First Season. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3395 Speed Racer tries to maintain 2008's momentum; however, there's little chance it will match Iron Man's opening, or even its sophomore stint. In fact, many pundits don't think it will be able to match Iron Man's opening during its entire run. That said, the combined weight of the new releases and the holds could lift this weekend over last year's total, which is the real goal at this point. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3394 Iron Man became the first worldwide smash hit of the year, opening with $98.59 million on 7,588 screens in 56 markets internationally, for a total of $200.71 million worldwide. Even if it only makes $200 million more during the rest of its box office run, it will still make enough to show a profit during its initial push into the home market. Its challenge is that it was truly a worldwide opening, which leaves it with very few additional markets. With a high level of competition coming up, it is unlikely to stay on top for very long. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3393 The winners of our Turning Iron into Gold contest were determined and they are... ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3392 This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive! ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3391 The first blockbuster release of the summer, Iron Man, placed first on the Per Theater Chart with an impressive average of $24,877. Second place was a bit of a surprise as cult director Harmony Korine's latest film, Mister Lonely, did better than expected with $16,769 in one theater. Roman de Gare was the only holdover in the $10,000 club as it doubled its theater count, to two, and earned an average of $11,267. Two other new releases, Son of Rambow and Redbelt opened with nearly identical averages of $10,758 and $10,560 respectively. Both have at least a shot at serious expansion over the coming weeks. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3390 A slow week for top-of-the-line releases and there are no first-run, wide releases that look even remotely interesting enough to buy. There are a few limited releases and older releases to fill the gap. It was also a slow week for spotlight reviews, but that gave me a chance to completely catch up to all the screeners that arrived late. ... That is until the next batch of late arrivals show up. As for the best of the best, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Buy from Amazon is high on that list, except technically it was released a couple of weeks ago. Teeth - Buy from Amazon also impressed, but the extras are a little too light. For the DVD Pick of the Week, I'm going with The Passion of Greg the Bunny: Best of the Film Parodies - Volume 2. ]]> http://www.the-numbers.com/interactive/newsStory.php?newsID=3389 Summer started with a bang, and a whimper... it depends on what you compare it to. Over the weekend, the box office totaled $159 million in ticket sales, which is 75% more than last weekend. However, it is also 16% less than the same weekend last year when Spider-man 3 smashed the record for biggest opening weekend. Compared to expectations, this was a great start; compared to last year, 2008 continues to struggle. ]]>