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Shalimar Sahota: I think Edwin nailed it. With Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man it's largely the character that audiences are going to see, though Downey. does play them so well. Outside of those franchise films he just hasn't been as huge a draw. Maybe that'll finally change over the next year.

David Mumpower: To Brett's point, I could even make the argument that he has three franchises if we differentiate Iron Man from The Avengers. I recognize that he is playing the same character in each one, but I still believe this is a valid way to evaluate his situation. The explanation is that with The Avengers and Iron Man, he is releasing a billion dollar movie two out of every three years at the moment. We may reach a saturation point with the films quickly; the one aspect that should not change, however, is the overseas appeal. Both "franchises" are slam dunks internationally.

Addressing Edwin's well argued point, I disagree with his conclusion. Where he sees disappointment for Due Date, I view uncanny success. Galifianakis is the one whose popularity has not translated beyond The Hangover thus far. His other attempt at a buddy movie, The Campaign, was a better, better-timed release that earned $13 million less. Due Date is one of the worst "comedy blockbusters" in recent memory in terms of quality. I'm not even sure if I'm using the quotation marks for calling it a blockbuster or a comedy. It's probably the latter. If Downey's name can sell that piece of garbage, he's doing great.

I would add the following note. The afore-mentioned The Soloist is the worst performer Downey Jr. has had since 2008. That film earned $31.7 million. His second *WORST* domestic release during that time frame is Due Date, which grossed $100.5 million. His eight releases during that time frame have averaged an unimaginable $236.6 million, not including Iron Man 3, which will boost that number. If we estimate a $425 million performance for that title, about the lowest total I can imagine at the moment, his nine releases since 2008 have an average domestic take of $290 million. Yes, the median Robert Downey Jr. release since 2008 is a Twilight. He wins.

Kim Hollis: Let's break out the crystal ball and do a little prophecy. Do you expect Catching Fire to match/surpass this performance? Also, what do you believe Disney's success with Marvel means for the Star Wars franchise moving forward?

Jay Barney: It is way too early to tell if the second Hunger Games film can match this performance. It will have a lot of work to do, certainly.

As for Disney's prospects for future film success, let's just say the horizon is pretty bright. They have the rights to some of the largest movie franchises ever and the box office is currently built around the franchise mode. Disney will no doubt make a mountain of dough from the likes of new incarnations of Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz and Pirates of the Caribbean.

This doesn't even take into account all of the money they are making from the current superhero line.

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