While previous superhero movies based on Marvel Comic characters such as Spider-Man and X-Men were hits, Marvel did not receive much money beyond an initial licensing fee. As a result in 2005 Marvel took the risky move of signing a deal with Paramount Pictures under which Paramount would distribute feature films to be produced by Marvel. Marvel would finance the movies by basically mortgaging the rights to the ten characters involved, including Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man. If these movies were flops, Marvel could lose the characters or at the very least see the chance for making more movies on its own eliminated.
Well the initial reviews and box-office for Iron Man, the first Marvel produced movie is in and it’s a hit! Deadline Hollywood states:
Paramount Pictures release of Marvel Studios’ Iron Man, in 4,105 theaters, made an estimated $35,125,000 on Friday 5/2, an estimated $37,500,000 on Saturday 5/3, for an estimated 3-day weekend box office of $100,750,000. Advance screenings in select locations, about 2,500 venues, from 8:00 PM to midnight on Thursday 5/1 contributed an additional $3,500,000. With this addition, the total estimated box office is $104,250,000. The estimated international box office for the weekend is $96,750,000 from 57 territories. The total combined estimated global box office for Marvel Studios' Iron Man is $201,000,000.
The monster numbers now make Iron Man the second biggest 3-day release for a non-sequel in the history of Hollywood, behind only Sony's first Spider-Man. It's also the No. 10 movie opening weekend and the No. 4 superhero movie weekend of all time. Iron Man is well on its way to paying off its $140 million budget.
One reason is because it was a rather good movie. While I never read an Iron Man comic I found the movie enjoyable, with a good mix of humor, action, and character development. While the flying sequences were clearly done by CGI the characters in them felt real, something that is not true in Spider-Man.
Critics seem to agree with me, with a 94% positive rating on RottenTomatoes.com Iron Man is the highest widely released movie of the year so far and one of the highest rating superhero movies of all time. Hopefully Marvel keeps of the good work.
PSA: Stay until after the end of the credits for a post credits scene.
Update: May 5, 2008
Following the success of Iron Man, Marvel has moved quickly to announce a sequel and finalize its initial slate of self-produced movies. It now plans:
- The Incredible Hulk – June 13, 2008
- Iron Man 2 – April 30, 2010
- Thor – June 4, 2010
- The First Avenger: Captain America (working title) – May 6, 2011
- The Avengers – July 2011
- Ant-Man – Under development - Writer/director engaged