BOX OFFICE REPORT (MAY 10-12): 'Iron Man 3' Dominates Again; 'The Great Gatsby' Proves Greater Than Predicted

The fact that Iron Man 3 held onto the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend wasn't a shocker. After taking home $175.3 million its opening weekend, the movie would have had to taken quite a fall to drop out of first.

The Great Gatsby opening to $51.12 million? That was a shocker. While The Great Gatsby was expected to debut at No. 2, no one guessed that it would do so well. The execs at Warner Bros. look like geniuses now after moving The Great Gatsby from Oscar season last December to summer blockbuster season this May. Based on the reviews critics have the film, The Great Gatsby wouldn't have been in the running for any big awards. It did just fine as a blockbuster though. You know there's some exec at Warner Bros. right now trying to figure out how to make The Great Gatsby 2 a reality. The Greater Gatsby? 2 Great 2 Gatsby? The Great Gatsby Strikes Back?

1. Iron Man 3 (1)
$72.47 million ($284.89 million)
Iron Man 3 has now grossed $284.89 million domestically, tying it with The Dark Knight Rises for third-fastest film to pass $250 million, only taking nine days to reach the milestone. Worldwide, Iron Man 3 sits at $948.99 million, making it a certainty that Iron Man 3 will be Marvel's second straight film to make over $1 billion internationally. Iron Man 3 also notched the fourth-best second weekend, with its $72.47 trailer The Avengers' $103.05 million, Avatar's $75.62 million and The Dark Knight's $75.17 million.

2. The Great Gatsby (N)

$51.12 million ($51.12 million)

The Great Gatsby etched its name in a bunch record book entries this past weekend. Overall, the film had the third-best opening weekend for a film that didn't take the No. 1 spot. It was Leonardo DiCaprio's second-best opening weekend ever, behind Inception's $62.79 million in 2010. The Great Gatsby also shattered director Baz Luhrmann's previous best opening weekend, trouncing the $14.80 million Australia debuted to.

3. Pain and Gain (2)

$5.00 million ($41.61 million)
Pain and Gain is still holding its spot in the top five, but it's barely pulling in any money in the process. Of its $41.61 million, almost half of that amount came during the movie's opening weekend.

4. Tyler Perry Presents Peeples (N)

$4.85 million ($4.85 million)
Worst Tyler Perry opening ever. I don't like to make fun of Perry's movies or even root against them. He's found a formula that usually works at the box office, but this time it didn't. Have audiences grown tired of Perry's movies?

5. 42 (3)

$4.65 million ($84.73 million)

If 42 can turn in a few more weekends like this, the movie will pass the $100 million mark. I'm rooting for that to happen.

Next week's predictions:

1. Star Trek Into Darkness

2. Iron Man 3

3. The Great Gatbsy

4. Pain and Gain

5. 42

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo