After the
film opened strong in the weekend, occupying the first place in the
Weekend BoxOffice Mojo top, with $100,750,000 in ticket sales, it’s no wonder Marvel
Entertainment announced it was planning an "Iron Man" sequel that
would be released on April 30, 2010.
In its earnings report Monday morning the company revealed its
film release plans for the next three years, Reuters informs.
Apparently, four other movies based on Marvel superheroes
are due to be released: "Thor," which will open June 4, 2010;
"The First Avenger: Captain America," May 6, 2011; "The
Avengers," July 2011; and "Ant-Man," of which the release date has
not yet been communicated.
"Because Marvel believes that the summer is the optimal
time to launch a new property, the company will not release a self produced film
in 2009," the company said, according to Reuters.
Marvel Studios said that "Iron Man 2" would hit
theaters on April 30, 2010, but did not say which parts of the creative team would
participate to the sequel’s development.
"Iron Man" was the first film financed entirely by
Marvel, who previously licensed his comic books characters to Hollywood studios
for blockbusters such as "Spider Man” or "X-Men."
"Iron Man" exceeded box office expectations,
almost equaling "Spider Man’"s success, which opened in May 2002 and earned
$114.800,000 million in its first weekend.
Enjoying many favorable reviews, the movie boosted the career
of Robert Downey Jr., who plays the role of Tony Stark, a billionaire weapons manufacturer
which turns himself into a superhero, after being kidnapped by terrorists in
Afghanistan.
According to the Associated Press, Downey’s character,
Stark, will also make an appearance in "The Incredible Hulk," which is
due to come out June 13 from Universal Studios.
"Iron Man" probably owes its success to the astonishing
special effects, galloping action and extremely amusing moments, which make it
entertaining equally for kids and grown-ups, for hi-tech fans and romantics alike.
