“X” Marks Wolverine’s Top Spot at the Weekend Box Office, But What’s the Top “X-Men” Movie?
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, clawed by the critics, took the box-office crown with $87 million. It’s a sharp number, given the pirated copy in circulation on the Web and the swine flu that threatened to (but didn’t) keep audiences away from crowded theaters. The studio says it only expected a $70 million debut from Wolfie, and WOW isn’t $87 million great, and blah blah blah. That’s all spin. Yes, $87 million is a sweet take, but Iron Man opened at $102 million in the same spot last summer, drawing younger audiences. So let’s not get too carried away. Variety reports that women made up 47% of the audience, and generally gave the film a higher score than men. So never discount the Hugh Jackman factor with the ladies, unless he’s in a movie that doesn’t have an X in it. If it’s Australia, Deception, Scoop or The Fountain, the gals head for the hills or some other hunk’s movie. But let’s stick with the X spot for today. I have two questions:
1. Is there anyone in any of the four X-Men movies so far who can stand with Jackman as best in show?
2. How would you rate the four X-Men movies in order of preference. I’m partial to X2, and utterly despise X3, but I’m willing to hear arguments.