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Jim Van Nest: I think this is right about where I would have expected it to fall. What I do appreciate is that in the new age of 3-D cinema, the temptation to convert 2-D pics to 3-D has been very strong and the studio decided NOT to convert Iron Man 2. They could have probably set a record with the increased box office from 3-D showings, but rather than put out a sub-standard product in 3-D just for numbers...they left it alone and decided to be content with a top 5 showing.

Matthew Huntley: Given that Iron Man 2 had the widest release of all time, not to mention a beloved original, zero competition and two lackluster box-office weekends in a row, I expected an opening in the $140-150 million range. The first Iron Man was an expected hit, but it still went beyond expectations, and it eventually soared on DVD and Blu-ray. Perhaps audiences grew tired of the incessant marketing for the sequel, or maybe they figured they'd wait until the crowds/hype died down. Other than that, I can't think of a reason why the movie didn't open bigger (not that $132.8 million is a bad figure - it's not - I was just expecting more).

Reagen Sulewski: I'm glad to see that the temptation to call this disappointing because it didn't break a record hasn't set in, or at least not to a large degree. Although it's slightly less than I predicted, it's still a huge gob of money for three days for a film, and a lot of the difference between it and The Dark Knight comes down to midnight screenings.

David Mumpower: I echo Reagen’s sentiments as well as Jim’s. This is only a disappointment to someone with unrealistic expectations. Any title that becomes one of the five best openings of all time is worthy of tremendous praise. Iron Man 2 built the brand almost 25% from its predecessor in only two years when ticket price inflation is about 5%. If anyone had said in April of 2008 that Iron Man 2 would open to $125+ million, they would have been laughed at. Jim is right that a shortcut could have been taken on the 3-D thing in order to make a cheap cash grab; to their credit, the Iron Man team took the high road as opposed to what the Clash of the Titans crew did. All in all, Iron Man 2 has had a solid opening weekend, earned quality movie reviews for the most part, and was graded an A from Cinemascore. Jon Favreau has done all that was asked of him.

And how about Scarlett Johansson's legs for that matter?

Kim Hollis: Where do you think Iron Man 2 goes from here in terms of box office legs?

Josh Spiegel: It's hard to say exactly, but based on the reaction of the crowd I watched the movie with, and the general audience response, I'll be surprised if the movie's legs are bad. I don't know that the movie will make just over three times its opening-weekend gross, a la the original Iron Man, but something close to $400 million may happen, thanks to the IMAX showings, general goodwill, and no strong competition (sorry, Robin Hood fans) for a few weeks.

Michael Lynderey: We're definitely not going to see a repeat of what happened with Iron Man 1's legs. Out of pretty much everyone I know who's seen it, I'm the only one who liked it, and that's usually not a good sign. Sure, that's just an anecdote, but I wouldn't say a 60%+ drop is out of the question next weekend. Aside from the inherent frontloading that a sequel of this sort is going to have, I just don't think Iron Man 2 has that "see it twice" factor that the first one had going for it. Somewhere in the $330 millions seems like a rational finish.

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