The remarkable tally stands as the second biggest opening day in box office history for a non-sequel trailing only the $39.4M of fellow Marvel Comics super hero Spider-Man from this very same weekend in 2002. Tony Stark and pals edged out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone which launched in November 2001 with $32.3M on its opening Friday. That figure however, would amount to roughly $40M at today's ticket prices. Still, Iron Man could not be in better company given that the character is not as universally known as Spider-Man, Batman, or Superman. Audience feedback has been very positive too as the Paramount release has earned a solid A- average from over 3,000 users of Yahoo Movies.

Iron Man was also in the same vicinity as X2: X-Men United which bowed this weekend in 2003 with a $31.2M Friday representing 37% of its eventual $85.6M weekend debut. Those figures at 2008 prices would translate to approximately $37M and $100M, respectively. The X-Men sequel and Iron Man both benefited from a bulit-in audience of comic fans, strong reviews, and the free and clear marketplace that the first weekend of May provides. However, X2 as a sequel had more upfront demand.

Should Iron Man follow a similar path, it could soar to $85-90M over the Friday-to-Sunday period and raise its cume to $90-95M when adding in Thursday grosses.

The weekend's other new title was the Patrick Dempsey romantic comedy Made of Honor which banked an estimated $5.5M on Friday, its first day of release. The non-superhero flick should reach $15-17M for Sony this weekend giving a solid second place finish.

Among sophomore holdovers, Friday-to-Friday declines were 45% for Baby Mama and 61% for Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay.

For a NEW review of Iron Man visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Sunday for a complete weekend box office report.