countdown

Can Rave Reviews for ‘Iron Man’ Make GTA Fans Leave the House This Weekend?

Courtesy of Rockstar and Paramount


As expected, Iron Man is a critical hit, scoring an 80 on Metacritic and a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the best-reviewed film of 2008 so far. But is acclaim enough to interest the reported six million people in the film’s target demo who purchased copies of Grand Theft Auto IV this week, most of whom have been sequestered in their homes since the game’s release on Tuesday? Will they actually go see it, a task requiring one to stand up, put on pants (in many states), and travel to a movie theater? Paramount is optimistic, with conservative estimates predicting Iron Man’s three day box office to be $75 to $85 million (and crazy estimates putting it at more than $100 million!).

Still, Iron Man’s overall domestic gross could struggle to break $200, Nikki Finke says, since it’s tracking poorly with women (too bad, we say — we already bought our girlfriend a ticket!), even as GTA IV grosses $50 million in a day, drives sales of Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s, and pretty much singlehandedly keeps our economy afloat and Americans from eating their own shoes for cheap sustenance. Check back on Monday to find out if Paramount executives are celebrating in the streets or building metallic, flight-capable exoskeletons to fly away from their creditors.

Iron Man is the Best-Reviewed Movie of 2008! [Rotten Tomatoes]
Wkd Prediction: ‘Iron Man’ A Strongman [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
’Iron Man’: It’s Still Weak With Women… [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
Box Office Tracking: Iron Man targets $102M by Monday Morning [/Film]

Can Rave Reviews for ‘Iron Man’ Make GTA Fans Leave the House This Weekend?