By Franck Tabouring

Weekend of May 2 - 4 

Yeah, he can fly!

“Iron Man” soared to the top of the North American box office this weekend with a stunning $100.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Adding revenues from Thursday night's screenings across the country, the film raised its domestic total to $104.2 million.

Paramount Pictures’ Marvel Comics adaptation came close to beating the $114.8 million record opening for a non-sequel, set by “Spider-Man” in 2002. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as high-profile weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, who becomes a superhero by building a high-tech, armor-plated suit.

Debuting in second place was Sony’s romantic comedy “Made of Honor” with $15.5 million. Starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan, the film centers on a man who plots to ruin his best friend’s wedding after she asks him to be her maid of honor.

Last week’s winner “Baby Mama” dropped to No. 3, earning $10.3 million and brining its total haul to $32.3 million. Directed by Michael McCullers, the Universal comedy stars Tina Fey as an infertile businesswoman who hires a chaotic working girl (Amy Poehler) as her surrogate.  

At No. 4, Nicholas Stoller’s comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” brought in $6.1 million from admissions at 2,872 theaters. The Judd Apatow-produced film, starring Jason Siegel as a sluggish musician mourning the breakup with his girlfriend (Kristen Bell), lifted its cumulative gross to $44.8 million after a solid three-week run.

“Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” slipped to fifth place this weekend with $6 million, reaching a domestic total of $25.2 million after two weeks in release. The Warner Bros. sequel stars John Cho and Kal Penn as two clueless stoners who are shipped to Guantanamo Bay after being mistaken for terrorists.

Meanwhile, Rob Minkoff’s martial arts spectacle “The Forbidden Kingdom” tumbles to No. 6 with a weekend gross of $4.2 million and a cumulative of $45.1 million. Starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, the film centers on an American teenager who’s thrust into a magical world to free an imprisoned king.

Following at No. 7 with $2.7 million was “Nim’s Island,” which brought its domestic total to $42,5 million after five weeks in release. At No. 8, Screen Gems’ teen horror flick “Prom Night” collected $2.5 million, lifting its total gross to $41.4 million.

Two films rounded out the top 10 this weekend: Robert Luketic’s drama “21,” which slipped to ninth place and pulled in $2.1 million, and Al Pacino’s thriller “88 Minutes,” which took home $1.6 million.

Exiting the top 10 were Steve Martino and Jimmy Hwayward’s computer-animated family flick “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who,” which scored $149.8 million after an eight-week run, and Marcel Langenegger’s directorial debut “Deception,” which earned only $3.9 million after two weeks in release.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)