When is a $70 million opening not a success? When its predecessor opened to $75 million four years ago. This is the predicament facing 'Star Trek Into Darkness,' which opened at number one at box office while being something of a disappointment.
No one expected 'The Great Gatsby' to take number one at the box office over 'Iron Man 3' this weekend, but it did the next best thing: it opened huge at number two. There is no shame in this silver medal.
"Will Robert Downey, Jr. star in 'Iron Man 4?'" has been a very hot question over the past few weeks. Robert Downey, Jr. and his co-stars have been asked ad nauseum about the potential for another sequel and they've all had varying reactions. But here's a more realistic question: What if it doesn't matter if Robert Downey, Jr. will return for 'Iron Man 4? Marvel, it seems, is already planning for life without their biggest star.
In one of the most public contract negotiations of the modern era, Robert Downey Jr. has let it be known that he finished his contractual obligations to Marvel and to playing Tony Stark and Iron Man. Which means his future involvement with both 'The Avengers' and 'Iron Man' will depend on how much Marvel is willing to pony up.
Look, we all knew that 'Iron Man 3' was going to make a whole bunch of money and open at number one at the box office and kick the summer movie season off in style. The question was never "Is 'Iron Man 3' going to make any money?", the question was always "What absolutely absurd amount is 'Iron Man 3' going to make in its opening weekend?"
I’ve been looking forward to the release of Iron Man 3 since I saw the first one a few years ago. Come on, who didn’t’ know there was going to be trilogy? Any one? That’s what I thought.
So the plan was set for last Friday afternoon
It was well known that -- partly to appeal to an ever-growing global audience -- Marvel thought ahead and included Chinese actors for an extended cut of 'Iron Man 3' that was made specifically for the Chinese market. Now that the film has been released in China, the content of those additional scenes have been revealed, and it turns out that the rest of the world isn't missing much.
Who can forget last summer, when the might Marvel vs. DC war raged on throughout the summer as fanboys feverishly debated whether 'The Avengers' or 'The Dark Knight Rises' was better. We're not sure that was fully settled but the Marvel vs. DC battle lied mostly dormant in the past few months. That is, until now, when 'Man of Steel' director Zack Snyder threw down the gauntlet with some harsh words for his competitors at Marvel. Find out what he said and let us know if you agree.
What's better than seeing 'Iron Man 3' before almost everybody else? Well for a group of amazing kids from New York City they found out that answer. As they attended a charity screening for Hurricane Sandy volunteers, they got to see 'Iron Man 3' with Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr.
From the earliest days of his appearances in Marvel Comics' 'Tales of Suspense,' Tony Stark has always been modeled after aviator/inventor/industrialist Howard Hughes. With 'Iron Man 3,' Stark assumes a new dimension of Hughes' persona: that of the paranoid shut-in who, in his later years, became notorious for roaming his private floor of the Desert Inn Hotel in Las Vegas, freaking out about invisible germs and collecting jars of his own urine. 'Iron Man 3's' Tony Stark, played once again by the inimitable Robert Downey Jr.isn't quite that bad, but he's getting there.
After the events chronicled in 'The Avengers,' where Manhattan was nearly leveled by invading aliens and Tony himself was almost killed, he's become obsessed with upgrading his armor -- leaping all the way from the Mark VII to the Mark 42 in a matter of months. When anyone mentions New York or aliens, Tony gets panic attacks. There's a reason Daredevil, not Iron Man, is the Marvel hero known as "The Man Without Fear." Poor Tony is terrified.
'Iron Man 3' may not have opened in the United States yet, but it's already a smash hit overseas, earning more money in its opening weekend than 'The Avengers' did. There's a reason why movie studios are starting to think internationally when it comes to their blockbusters -- people in other countries want to see these movies just as much as Americans and a successful international release can double or triple a domestic gross.
There's been lots of talk lately of 'Iron Man 3' being the last of the Iron Man movies. And that may very well be a (sad) possibility. But that doesn't mean it's the end of the Iron Man universe. While promoting 'Iron Man 3,' star Don Cheadle talked about the very real chance that we'll see a spinoff War Machine movie in the future. Cheadle even has some very definite ideas on what 'War Machine' would be all about.
