PREDICTED WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

The summer movie season officially began last weekend with the release of Iron Man 2, which took in an astonishing $133 million at the box office. The film came in just a little over it's predicted $130 million total and scored the fifth highest grossing opening weekend of all-time just behind The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, respectively. In the film, actor Robert Downey Jr. returns as billionaire super-hero Tony Stark, along with his faithful assistant Pepper Potts played by Gwyneth Paltrow. This time they are joined by new cast members Don Cheadle, who replaces Terrence Howard from the first film, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell as the film's villains and Scarlett Johansson as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Black Widow. Once again, the film is directed by Jon Favreau and actor Samuel L. Jackson also returns as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury.

While the film did take the top spot last weekend, most fans thought the film was good, but not great and not as good as the original. Also, many fans complained that the film tried too hard to squeeze in too much in too little time. The big question remains, can Iron Man 2 dominate the box office for a second week in a row or will it be upset by newcomer Robin Hood? Early predictions have Iron Man 2 narrowly beating out the film about the famous archer to take the crown for a second week in a row with around 68.9 million, which is very close to a %50 drop off from last week. The film currently has ninety-nine fans on our site and has an average rating of 4.4, which is down from last week's 4.5. The trailer for the film has received 138,758 views, up 2,758 since last week. Currently, one hundred and fifteen people have rated the film on our site and sixty-one of them have given the film five stars. Here are what some of our readers had to say about the film. "It's lost its flair, but other than that it is fast paced, action-packed, visually beautiful, and it's a film opening up the idea of The Avengers." Another fan writes, "Overall, Iron Man 2 is a great ride! It's not perfect and not as good as the first movie, but it definitely keeps coming back to hit all the right marks in all the right places." The film opened a week earlier over seas and to this date has already grossed a total of $341 million worldwide well beyond it's estimated $200 million production cost. With another $68.9 million predicted for this weekend, you can guarantee that Paramount and Marvel Studio executives are already discussing Iron Man 3.

Predicted to debut at number two is another highly anticipated summer film, director Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. The film stars Oscar winner Russell Crowe as the famous bow & arrow wielding hero, along with fellow Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and William Hurt, and accomplished actors Mark Strong (Kick-Ass) and Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) rounding out the cast. The film is predicted to make around $62.1 million this weekend, which is only a few million less than the number one film, Iron Man 2. In fact, with Iron Man 2 showing a %50 drop off from last week, it would seem that Robin Hood is poised to take about half of their audience away this weekend. The movie currently has twenty-eight fans on our site. The film is ranking in with a 4.5 on our site, over 15,000 people have viewed the trailer and of the thirteen people that have rated the film eight have gave it five stars. Here is what one of our readers had to say about the film. "The movie is a hodgepodge, its value as a history lesson more than questionable, but it does give its demographics-the battle-loving males and the romantic young women-their due." Predicted to debut at third is Just Wright, a romantic comedy set in the world of the NBA starring former rappers Queen Latifah and Common. The film is predicted to earn around $15.5 million and currently is getting a rating of 2.8 on our site. The film has six friends and out of the five people who have rated the movie, only one person gave it five stars. However, the trailer for the film has received over 2,000 views.

Predicted to fall two spots from last week to number four is director Samuel Bayer's re-imagining of the classic 1984 horror film A Nightmare On Elm Street. In the film, Oscar Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley takes over the iconic role from the character's originator Robert Englund and is joined by actress Rooney Mara (Dare) as Nancy Thompson, and actors Kyle Gallner (The Haunting In Connecticut) and Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). To date, the film has grossed a little over $50 million in just three weeks at the box office, which is a nice profit considering it's $35 million production cost. Last weekend the film was seen on 3,332 screens and earned $2,752 on each. This weekend the movie is predicted to earn around $12.3 million and currently has forty-nine fans on our site. Last week the film was given a 3.8 rating by our readers but that has gone up to 3.9 this week. Out of the eighty-six people who have rated the movie on our site, sixty-two of them have given it four stars or more and the trailer now has more than 49,000 views on our site. Rounding off the top five this week in it's debut is the romantic comedy, Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfried (Dear John). The movie is predicted to earn roughly $9.6 million this weekend and currently has a rating of 3.0 on our site. The movie has fifteen fans and out of the seven people who have rated the film, only three have given it five stars. However the trailer has over 1,600 views.

The rest of the top ten films at the box office this weekend are predicted to look like this. Predicted to fall three spaces back from last week to number six is DreamWorks Animation's hit film FIBPiHDCxvbsFC||How to Train Your Dragon}. The film, which stars Gerard Butler, Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig as of last weekend had already earned $201 million in just seven weeks on the charts, surpassing it's $165 million production cost. Last week the film dropped 36.3% and was seen on 423 less screens than the week before, it still managed to earn $2,251 on each of its 3,003 screens. This weekend it is predicted to earn another $7.2 million. Predicted to come in at number seven for the second week in a row is the 3D remake of the classic '80s Greek-mythology film Clash of the Titans starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. As of last weekend, the films total gross was around $409 million, well surpassing its $165 million purported production cost. The film is predicted to earn another 6.8 million this weekend.

Falling four spots back from last week and predicted to come in at number eight is the Steve Carell & Tina Fey comedy Date Night, which is predicted to earn another $4.9 million this weekend. Last week the film dropped 30.1% from the previous week and was seen on 359 less screens, earning $1,939 in each of the 2,734 theaters it was shown in. As of last weekend, the movie had earned $80.8 million in just five weeks, surpassing its $55 million production cost. Coming in at number nine and also dropping four spots from last week is superstar Jennifer Lopez's comedy The Back-Up Plan. The film, which also stars Alex O'Loughlin is predicted to earn another $4.5 million at the box office this weekend. Last week the film dropped 40.1% from the previous week and earned $1,447 on each of its 3,003 screens. As of last week the film had grossed around $29.4 million in just three weeks but was still short of earning back it's $35 million production cost. Finally, predicted to round off the top ten this week for the second week in a row is the documentary Babies. Last week the film was released on 534 screens, earning $2,949 on each for a total of $1.5 million. This week the film is predicted to earn around $1.9 million. Be sure to check out Box Office Beat Down this Sunday to see who is crowned the King of the box office this week and check back here next week for more box office predictions!