Box Office: 'Iron Man 2' generates strong $133M

Paramount won the weekend race at the North American box office as Jon Favreau's sequel "Iron Man 2" crushed its competition with a strong $133.6 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film beat its predecessor on opening weekend by $31 million, and that's a good start for "Iron Man 2."

The movie, which is now No. 1 worldwide, scored a massive $30,502 per theater at 4,380 locations. Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, who this time must face Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer and Mickey Rourke's Whiplash. Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Gwyneth Paltrow co-star.

"Babies," this week's second release, finished at No. 10 with a decent $1.5 million at only 534 locations. The documentary about one year in the life of four babies from around the world delivered a surprisingly strong average of $2,949 per theater.

Meanwhile, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" took a big dive this weekend, earning only $9.1 million in second place. Domestically, the horror remake directed by Samuel Bayer has collected a total gross of $48.5 million. Following at No. 3 was "How to Train Your Dragon," which lifted its total to $201 million.

At No. 4, Shawn Levy's comedy "Date Night" picked up another $5.3 million, reaching a total haul of $80.8 million after five weeks in release. Jennifer Lopez's romantic comedy "The Back-up Plan" finished fifth on the weekend, bagging $4.3 million for a cumulative gross of $29.4 million.

Summit Entertainment's disastrous comedy "Furry Vengeance" slipped to No. 6, generating $4 million. Starring Brendan Fraser as a developer engaging in a war with animals, the film has brought its total gross to $11.6 million. "Clash of the Titans" followed with $2.3 million in seventh place ($157.8 million total).

At the bottom of the top 10, "Death at a Funeral" scored a three-day gross of $2.1 million, good enough for No. 8. After four weeks in release, the film has grossed $38.3 million. Following with $1.8 million at No. 9 was "The Losers," which managed to bring its total gross to $21.4 million.

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