THURS-FRI's $38.5 Million 'IRON MAN'

$95 Million 3 1/2-Day Weekend Gross

$30 Million From 47+ Foreign Territories

May 3, 2008 --- This is why Hollywood keeps making movies from comic books.

Now it's official: Marvel's Iron Man opened with $38.5 million at Thursday's and Friday's box office for what will be $95 million in total domestic gross for the full 3 1/2 day release (including Thursday night's $5 million haul from advance screenings in 2,500 theaters, plus Friday-Saturday-and-Sunday's monster take in 4,105 venues).

The PG-13 blockbuster distributed by Paramount logged in No. 1 as the best 2008 film opening, but also should finish among the Top 2 or Top 3 summer movies of the year as it kicks off the all-important May through August popcorn season.

The $140 mil production self-financed by Marvel also broke the record for the second biggest non-sequel opening of all time behind only Spider-Man 1.

"Especially when we've had a horrid March and April, this shows people are ready to go to the movies," an insider says.

I understand the Cinemascore was an A, and an A-plus with younger groups: 18 to 24, and under 25.

The movie understandably skewed more male: Friday night turned out 60% male-40% female filmgoers, "which bodes well for female audiences finding the movie and loving it," an insider told me this morning.

"A comic book movie could have gone even higher than that, into the 70s percentile male."