Speed Racer: Crash and Burn

Speed Racer may very well be this summer's biggest box-office disappointment.

According to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily late last Friday, the Wachowski Brothers' project had only made a dismal US$6.1 million on its opening day, with film experts predicting an overall weekend take of US$20-25 million as kids bump the movie attendance up in matinee screenings.

Speed Racer debuted at #3 at the box office, with the Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas opening at #2, and Marvel Entertainment's Iron Man holding strong at #1 on its second week.

What Happens In Vegas opened last Friday with US$6.8 million, and is expected to make about US$20 million for the entire weekend. Iron Man has made US$15 million on Friday night alone, bringing the total movie earnings to almost US$180 million in the US alone.

Figures tracked from overseas also show disappointing figures; for all the hype, Speed Racer only debuted at #6 in the United Kingdom, and #9 in Germany. The film was expected to do better overseas, but there are no official figures from Warner Brothers just yet.

Reports say that Speed Racer had cost about US$180 million to make, and another estimated US$100 million to market. Meanwhile, What Happens in Vegas only cost some US$30 million to make.

Speed Racer stars Emile Hirsch (of Lords of Dogtown and The Girl Next Door), Matthew Fox (Jack Shepard of "Lost") and Cristina Ricci (of Monster, and more recently, Black Snake Moan), and is directed by brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski, same guys who gave us V for Vendetta and the Matrix trilogy.