Another Great Weekend for Movie Studios

Last weekend, we reported that Disney DIS had to be doing the collective happy dance after Iron Man 3, the third installment in the Iron Man franchise brought in an impressive $175 million domestically and $623 million internationally. This was so impressive that it placed the film as number two on the list of best opening weekend hauls.

The second weekend for Iron Man 3 was down 58 percent from its first weekend but at $72.5 million, any studio would be happy to report those earnings after a first weekend. That puts Iron Man 3’s total international sales at $944 million.

For a film that cost about $200 million to make, Iron Man 3, which is sure to cross the billion dollar mark, will be the belle of the ball when Disney releases its next earnings report. Count on that!

But that wasn’t the only film that had an impressive haul this weekend. The Great Gatsby, a film by Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann, brought in $51.1 million—much higher than the estimated $45 million.

Warner Brothers, a division of Time Warner TWX, co-produced the movie that received mixed reviews but came in as Luhrmann’s biggest debut ever.

Dan Fellman, president of distribution at Warner Bros, said, "Leo drove it and Jay-Z's music was big factor, too," he told The Wrap, "and it doesn't hurt to have a director with his own star power."

What might be the bigger story is not the fierce rivalry between studios for the weekly top spot in ticket sales. Instead, the fact that consumers are heading to the theatres en masse. Just these two movies alone have produced nearly $300 million in ticket sales over the past two weeks.

With more big movies Like Man of Steel, the next in the Superman Franchise, and Star Trek: Into Darkness, poised to fill the theatres, this could be one of the best summer seasons for movie studios in recent years—something they need after a lackluster 2013 year so far.

Of course, not every movie can be a hit. Tyler Perry Presents: Peoples, only brought in $4.8 million but let’s give Lionsgate LGF a bit of slack. Opening this weekend would be like HTC introducing a new phone the same day Apple AAPL introduced a new iPhone.

Disclosure: As of this writing, Tim Parker was long Apple and enjoyed The Great Gatsby.