The summer blockbuster season saw its first major flop this weekend, with the Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer crashing and burning into the No. 2 position with only $20.2 million (less than half of what many industry projections estimated it would take on opening weekend). To add insult to injury, Speed Racer only narrowly edged out the Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz duh-inducing rom-com What Happens In Vegas, which took in $20 million. In fact, Speedy could find himself bumped down to the No. 3 position later today when final weekend numbers are released.
Iron Man, meanwhile, continued to reign in the No. 1 position, handily besting Speed Racer with a $50.5 million take, making the superhero flick 2008's top earner so far. Combined with the rest of the top 10–including steady repeat performances from Made Of Honor (No. 4, $7.6 million), Baby Mama (No. 5, $7.6 million), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (No. 6, $3.78 million), and Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (No. 7, $3.16 million)–it made for a 21 percent bump in overall numbers from the same weekend last year.
Detailed box-office numbers can be found at boxoficemojo.com.