WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'The Wolverine' Attacks Top Spot Despite Weaker X-Men Franchise Opening

There was no surprise that The Wolverine would claw its way to the top spot at the box office this weekend, however the standalone mutant film starring Hugh Jackman debuted weaker than every other X-Men film in the franchise with the exception of the first film from 2000.

The Wolverine transports adamantium-clawed superhero halfway around the globe to Japan to reunite with an industrial tycoon whose life he saved during World War II. Despite being based on a popular 80's X-Men arc, a $55 million opening for The Wolverine is startling for a franchise that has boasted higher numbers in the past.   

Last week's top film, The Conjuring and previous two-week champion Despicable Me 2 continued to hold strong in the face of competition. The James Wan scare fest closes in on a successful $100 million run, while Illumination Entertainment's animated spy flick became to second film of 2013 to cross $300 million domestically.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Gatsby' Parties Large at #2, Comes Up Short Against 'Iron Man' Repeat

It wasn't no surprise that superhero juggernaut Iron Man 3 and Baz Luhrmann's stylistic retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic would pack a 1-2 punch during this weekend's Mother's Day frame.

But was anyone expecting Luhrman's The Great Gatsby to benefit from being pushed back from a Oscar-bait holiday release to being sandwiched between two of summer's most anticipated releases, a spot dreaded by many jockeying for heated positions? $51 million says differently.

Now two weeks deep into an already lucrative summer movie season, the studio tentpoles on deck in the coming weeks have their work cut out for them. And will any be able to catch up to Iron Man 3's overperforming haul?
     

'Iron Man 3' Kicks Off Summer Complete with Energy and Laughs

Iron Man returns with more suits of armor than ever before, including Mark XLII.

Last year this time, Marvel embarked on its most ambitious outing ever with The Avengers. For the legions of rabid Marvel fanboys out there, witnessing its larger-than-life superhero dream team (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America) joining forces for the very first time onscreen sparked a higher demand for more superior superhero flicks. That's all fine, except there's even greater pressure on Iron Man 3 to deliver the goods, more so than any previous installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Since the life-altering events of The Avengers, billionaire genius Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has found himself suffering from PTSD, unable to sleep and consumed in the bowels of his Malibu home lab with constructing newer variations of Iron Man armor. But those are just the start of his problems when Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin begins to terrorize the American people and its government. After an attack on his long-time friend Happy, Tony's war with the Mandarian gets real personal.

'Avengers' is Marvel's Newest Definition of Super

Marvel's superhero "dream team" defend New York from the villainous forces of  Loki.

Very few films have been able to come close, let alone match the hype factor that’s been gradually brewing throughout the past four years for Marvel’s superhero dream team to assemble onscreen. Since 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel has systematically been laying their cards down one by one, revealing subtle clues about what Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury describes as the Avengers Initiative. Die-hard comic book fans know exactly what’s about to happen and if you’ve seen Iron Man or Thor or any of Marvel’s other recent superhero movies in the theaters and you’ve seen moviegoers glued to their seats during the credits, they’re just anxious for the next little piece of the greater picture.

In The Avengers, the world is threatened by the devious Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the exiled prince of Asgard who’s driven to redeem his defeat in last year’s Thor by conquering Earth once and for all. Loki isn’t alone in this conquest; this time he commands an army of Chitauri, a formidable alien force with its own agenda. Being that this is humanity’s largest threat to date, Fury assembles the Avengers composed of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to defend Earth.