'Iron Man 2' blasts off with $133M at box office

The 2010 summer movie season got off to a strong start with "Iron Man 2" earning an estimated $133.6 million over the May 7-9 weekend.

It appears a lot of moms went to the movies this weekend.

From Brandon Gray at BoxOfficeMojo.com:

Striking with an estimated $133.6 million in a blazing start to the summer movie season, 'Iron Man 2' shot past the debut of the first 'Iron Man,' which kicked off with $98.6 million on the same weekend in 2008. The sequel also rocketed to fifth place among the highest-grossing opening weekends of all time, slotting behind 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's' $135.6 million launch. In terms of estimated attendance, though, 'Iron Man 2' would chart ninth on that list.

'Iron Man 2' showed on close to 10,000 screens at a record 4,380 theaters and, in three days, already ranks as the fourth highest-grossing picture from 2010. Its gross included 181 IMAX runs, which generated an estimated $10.2 million. That set the 2D IMAX opening weekend record, eclipsing 'Star Trek's' $8.5 million from last year.

While 'Iron Man 2' didn't receive as much of a second movie bump as 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,' 'The Matrix Reloaded,' 'The Dark Knight' or even 'X2: X-Men United' among others, it's important to note that the norm is audience erosion for pictures performing at this level, making 'Iron Man 2's' 35 percent increase over the first movie's opening a success.

Here is this week's Top 5 films based on studio estimates:

1 Iron Man 2 $133,600,000 - $133,600,000 cumulative
2 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) $9,170,000 - $48,530,000 cumulative
3 2 How to Train Your Dragon $6,760,000 - $201,093,000 cumulative
4 3 Date Night Fox $5,300,000 - $80,854,000 cumulative
5 4 The Back-Up Plan $4,345,000 - $29,415,000 cumulative