"Speed Racer" may stall at starting gate

The advance word of mouth on the film "Speed Racer" is not all that great, or at least not what its studio, Warner Bros., had hoped for. Instead of being this weekend's box office champ, as was expected when the studio scheduled its release date, it may be competing with "What Happens in Vegas" for second place. ("Iron Man" is predicted to maintain its box office superiority for the weekend.)

Second place is not bad, mind you. That means the Wachowski brothers film will net in the $25 million to $30 million range, but considering how much it costs to produce the film, that level would be a major disappointment. The film is tracking fairly well among males in the 8-to-25 age group. "Vegas," meanwhile is tracking extremely well among females of all ages, although it faces more competition from other romantic comedies currently in theaters like "Made of Honor" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

It will be interesting to watch "Iron Man"'s totals, as well. If it's box-office drops by less than 50 percent over last weekend, that means it could be a sustainable hit like "Spider-Man," "Batman Begins" and "Transformers," possibly reaching a $300 million domestic total and $600 million worldwide. If it drops by more than 50 percent, it will be regarded as a quick fade, much like the "X-Men" films.

Regardless, it's expected to be a nice summer for Paramount Pictures. In addition to "Iron Man," in two weeks it will release "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" which is tracking to have an astouding opening weekend at the box office.