Mutant mania isn't dead yet: 'Wolverine' debuts with $87 million

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is a smash. $87 million and counting. So much for those worries about the illegal online download.

Credit: 20th Century Fox

As if there was any doubt, America isn't over super-powered mutants yet.

Fear of the swine flu pandemic and illegal downloads were washed away as Hugh Jackman's "X-Men" sequel, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" opened to an impressive $87 million for the weekend  That total match last year's "Iron Man" stunner of $98 million or the last two openers of the "X-Men" franchise, but after all the negative buzz 20th Century Fox will no doubt popping champagne bottles Monday morning.   If the picture plays like traditional trends, it should end up between $180-200 million total, which is not too shabby for a spin off and will have done its job: establishing a new franchise for the News Corp. company.

This weekend's other major opener,  Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner's "Ghost of Girlfriends Past" brought in a disappointing $15.3 million. McConaughey's romantic comedies tend to open $20 million plus, so there may be some concern that his brand is starting to wear off.  The picture played similarly to last year's Patrick Dempsy vehicle "Made of Honor" which, also slotted against a superhero pic ("Iron Man") made only $14.7 million in its opening weekend before eventually topping out a shrug inducing $46 million.  "Ghosts" may have also been hurt by a marketing campaign that placed the picture in a winter setting.  A fall or winter date may have been a safer bet for the Burbank studio.

Last week's box office champion, "Obsessed," brought in $12 million. For a movie that reportedly cost only $20 million, Sony will be very happy with a two week gross of over $47 million and close to $70 million overall when the thriller's run is done.

Here are the the top ten pictures for the weekend according to Box Office Mojo.

1. "Wolverine," $87 million.

2. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," $15.3 million.

3. "Obsessed," $12 million, $47 to date.

4 "17 Again" $6.5 million, $48.4 million to date.

5. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $5.8 million, $182 million to date.

6. "The Soloist," 5.6 million, $18.1 to date.

7. "Earth," $4.1 million, $21.8 million to date.

8. "Fighting," $4.1 million, $17.5 to date.

9. "Hannah Montana: The Movie," $4 million, $70 million to date.

10. "State of Play," $3.6 million, $30 million to date.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.