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Marvel Steels Itself for 'Iron Man' Open
04/28/08 - 09:49 AM EDT
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The film production business is so compelling because much of a film's costs are fixed, so higher box office revenue creates serious operating leverage. One other worry circulating among analysts is how Take-Two Interactive's TTWO Grand Theft Auto IV video game may impact Iron Man's box office receipts. The game is being released this week, ahead of the opening weekend for Iron Man. "This is an interesting competitive entertainment choice for an audience," says Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, who rates Marvel market perform. "It appears GTA will likely capture at least a portion of Iron Man's audience." Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers, a box office tracking firm, disagrees. "Iron Man has strong appeal to gamers and techies," who are big pieces of the target audience for the film, he says. "They will have time for both that weekend. They will be playing GTA 4 and going to see Iron Man." He expects the film to open somewhere in the middle of the $65 million to $100 million opening weekend range that he is hearing. One other positive for Iron Man: The film is opening during the same time of year as last year's record-breaking opening weekend for Spider-Man 3, which took in $150 million in its first weekend. Bottom line: If you believe in Iron Man, buy the stock. If not, wait on the sidelines.
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