娱乐英语新闻:"Iron Man 2" shot into fame with record opening gross

LOS ANGELES, May 9 (Xinhua) -- "Iron Man 2" has triumphed in the weekend box-office derby with the fifth-biggest opening of all- time, selling an estimated 133.6 million-U.S. dollar tickets in the United States and Canada as the summer movie season of 2010 kicks off over the weekend, the North America box office authority said Sunday.

The Marvel Studios/Paramount Pictures' latest hit which is spawned by a comic book is behind only "The Dark Knight" (158.4 million U.S. dollars debut), "Spider -Man 3"(151.1 million U.S. dollars "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (142.8 million U.S. dollars and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (135.6 million U. S. dollars in opening weekend popularity, the authority said based on projected Friday-Sunday statistics.

Actors Robert Downey Jr (L) and Gwyneth Paltrow pose during a photocall for the movie "Iron Man 2" in Los Angeles, California April 23, 2010.

As another American superhero film based on the legendary Marvel Comics character of the same name, "Iron Man 2" is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2008 blockbuster film "Iron Man" and the second film in a planned trilogy. Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his title role as Tony Stark in the action film which was directed by Jon Favreau. It is also the third-biggest superhero debut behind "Batman" and the Web Slinger.

In the distant number two box office position this weekend is the remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," a Warner Bros. re-boot of the Freddy franchise with an estimated 9.1 million U.S. dollars in sales; Paramount/DWA's "How To Train Your Dragon" with an estimated 6.8 million U.S. dollars in receipts. In its seventh weekend of release, family favorite drops a mere 36 percent and crosses the 200 million U.S. dollars mark.

Fox's "Date Night," another "energizer movie bunny," was No. 4 as an audience favorite as it earns 5.3 million U.S. dollars in fifth weekend of run.

Rounding out the top five is CBS Films'romantic comedy "The Back-Up Plan," a Jennifer Lopez vehicle which garnered 4.3 million U.S. dollars and is near the 30 million-U.S. dollar mark, the authority said.