Does Ballmer Need To Go?

Microsoft’s dramatic decision this weekend to withdraw its offer for Yahoo and not pursue a hostile bid raises a whole host of questions. What happens to Yahoo now? What happens to Microsoft? Or is this just a tactic to drive down the price of Yahoo’s shares so that Microsoft can go hostile with a lower offer? And if the deal really is dead, does Steve Ballmer need to start looking for a new job?

This last question may not be so hypothetical. Ballmer has been the big driver behind this deal at Microsoft—some would say to the point of obsession. After the disaster that has been Windows Vista (Microsoft’s core product), Ballmer may have realized he needed to redeem himself in the eyes of Microsoft’s board. And the “transformative” deal with Yahoo was the way he was going to do it.

One reading of Ballmer’s obsession with the deal is that he felt his job was on the line if he didn’t get it done. According to one secondhand account that leaked to us yesterday before the deal was called off, over the past week Ballmer increasingly has been “yelling and screaming at employees for almost no reason” and is being “more of a tyrant than usual.” One executive on the Microsoft deal team supposedly made a comment about “not having to worry about Ballmer anymore” if the Yahoo deal fell through. What the exec didn’t know, though, was that Ballmer was in earshot, and he screamed back that the deal would go through and that he wouldn’t let the board “crucify” him.

As things stand, the fact that Ballmer was not able to close the deal could put his job in jeopardy. The big questions are: If he really does walk away, can he put this distraction behind the company? Or is it too late for Ballmer? If Microsoft’s board loses patience with him, it might have to ask Blll Gates to temporarily come back as CEO until it finds a replacement. After all, Ballmer has already made a strong and convincing case for why Microsoft needs Yahoo to make its online and advertising strategy work (it needs the scale of Yahoo’s display and search advertising inventory to compete with Google). It is not clear how it can achieve its objectives on its own or through other acquisitions.

Maybe Ballmer backed down because he realized the deal was becoming too big of a distraction and he didn’t want to drag it out further given Yahoo’s continued resistance. (And save his job in the process). Or perhaps he thinks he can still get it done by making Yahoo’s stock price collapse and come back with a hostile offer. (After all, if you are going to go hostile, you’d want to drive down the stock price of the target company to make your offer look even more attractive to shareholders). We’ll find out later this week.

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Buffett to Fans: Opportunity Exists But Berkshire May Not Be Best Bet

Investors, take heart: Warren Buffett sees investment opportunities in the U.S. stock and bond markets, and believes widespread financial turmoil from the credit crunch is behind us.

All eyes were on Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, a day after Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual fan-fest for shareholders at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., both Mr. Buffett, 77 years old, and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 84, criticized regulators, politicians and accountants for lax oversight of financial institutions that are at the center of the subprime-mortgage crisis, and, according to Mr. Munger, were guilty of "deep conflicts of interest."

"The regulators and the accountants have failed us terribly," Mr. Munger said, adding that mark-to-market accounting rules are necessary but can obscure other problems within a company.

This year at Mr. Buffett's annual gathering for shareholders -- often called "Woodstock for Capitalists" -- 31,000 Buffett enthusiasts were serenaded by Fruit of the Loom minstrels, enjoyed samples of Berkshire portfolio companies such as Dilly Bars and watched artist Michael Israel speed-paint a Buffett portrait with Benjamin Moore paints.

Mr. Buffett credited the Federal Reserve for helping to avert a more-widespread crisis on Wall Street by orchestrating a bailout of Bear Stearns Cos. that "prevented, in my opinion, the contagion where you're going to have runs on investment banks."

Bank losses "aren't over by a long shot, but a lot of it has already been recognized," he said, adding that the depth of the housing crisis, unemployment and other economic factors would help determine how long the write-downs continue.

"The idea of financial panic -- that has been pretty much taken care of," he said.

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Microsoft's Failed Yahoo Bid Raises Pressure for Plan on Google

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp.'s decision to drop its pursuit of Yahoo! Inc. increases the pressure on Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer to make his money-losing Internet business succeed against Google Inc.

Ballmer's bid for Yahoo, the most-visited Web site, signaled that Microsoft was making little progress against Google in Internet search advertising, said Charles Di Bona, a Sanford C. Bernstein analyst. Ballmer withdrew his bid over the weekend after Yahoo refused a sweetened offer of almost $50 billion in stock, leaving investors asking what his online strategy will be.

``They've got to come out sooner rather than later with a pretty well articulated vision,'' said New York-based Di Bona.

The danger for Microsoft is that Google, owner of the most popular Web search engine and winner of the most online advertising dollars, will expand its dominance while Ballmer plans a new course. Google gained 10 percentage points of market share in Internet queries since June, providing 59.8 percent of the searches done in March, according to researcher ComScore Inc. in Reston, Virginia.

Ballmer and Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's Internet unit, met two days ago in Seattle with Yahoo co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo, two people familiar with the negotiations said. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, the largest software maker, offered to raise its $44.6 billion bid by about $5 billion, to $33 a share. Yang and Filo refused to accept less than $37 a share, the people said.

Microsoft was probably right to walk away because its return from the purchase would have been too small if it had paid more than $35, Di Bona said.

`Square One'

The text promotions that run next to search results account for more than half the $41 billion market for Internet ads. With Yahoo, Microsoft would have tripled its share of U.S. online searches and would have become the biggest seller of graphical- display ads on the Internet.

Smaller acquisitions and investments in technology may not be enough to reverse the fortunes of the Internet unit, which lost $228 million last quarter.

``They're back to square one,'' said Chris Hickey, an analyst at London-based Atlantic Equities who recommends holding Microsoft shares. ``The fact that Microsoft wanted to do this deal shows what a difficult position they're in to start with. This reminded investors of Microsoft's poor market position and the long-term risk to its business from online competitors.''

Yahoo Shares

Microsoft fell 16 cents to $29.24 May 2 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have dropped 18 percent this year amid concern that sales of Microsoft's Windows software, which runs more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers, are slowing and that buying Yahoo would prove expensive.

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Defending America’s Foreign Policy One Adsense Unit At A Time

Not content to leave Tom Cruise alone in a self promotional Adwords Campaign, the American Government is buying Adwords units in defense of American Foreign Policy.

The ad (pictured right) reads “Peace & Security, Creating security through improved relations and cooperation” and links through to a page on America.gov with a motto of “Telling America’s Story.” The page includes stories on Syria and Nuclear Reactors, Terrorists and other Bush Administration foreign policy news.

It’s not clear whether this ad is being displayed within the United States itself, or simply to the rest of the world. Tax payer money well spent, or waste of money propaganda via Adsense units? You can be the judge.

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Mystery over Mariah wedding story

Nick Cannon appears in the video for Mariah Carey's new single Bye Bye

Singer Mariah Carey is reported to have married actor Nick Cannon weeks after meeting him on the set of a video.

But there has been no confirmation from the pair's representatives. US media have claimed the ceremony took place in secret in the Bahamas on Wednesday.

People.com and E! News quoted his family members and a local clergyman as saying the pair did tie the knot.

Cannon, 27, is said to have met the star while making the video for her new single Bye Bye at the end of March.

The singer appeared to show off an engagement ring on 26 April

Carey and Cannon were seen together at the premiere of her film Tennessee at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York last weekend, with the singer sporting a diamond ring.

E! quoted a relative, Linda Cannon, as saying: "He called us and told us all about it. We are happy for him."

People.com quoted Bishop Clifford Petty of the National Church of God in the Caribbean as saying he presided over the wedding.

But some stories have questioned whether it is a publicity stunt for her new single, album and films.

Cannon has starred in the movies Day of the Dead, Drumline and Bobby and, according to his website, he will portray late tennis player Arthur Ashe in a forthcoming biopic.

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"Grand Theft Auto" simplifies song purchasing

(Billboard) - The emerging effort to use videogames as a channel for selling music is entering its next phase with the recent release of "Grand Theft Auto IV."

Phase I has proved a phenomenal success, with "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III" selling millions of songs through their respective platforms. But it has been a limited victory.

Both are music-based rhythm games that use master recordings and cover songs to let gamers "play" along to the tunes using special controllers shaped like musical instruments. Purchased songs can be used only as elements of the game itself. They can't be transferred to an MP3 player or stored in users' digital music libraries.

But "Grand Theft Auto IV" includes a feature that lets players tag any song in the soundtrack in order to receive more information about the title and artist, as well as store tagged tracks in a custom playlist on the Amazon digital music store for later purchase.

"GTA IV" is not a rhythm game. It's a story-driven interactive "film" with plenty of side missions that add up to 100 hours of gameplay and features a soundtrack of more than 200 songs -- the largest in videogame history.

PRESS "BUY"

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Those Miley Cyrus pics develop into a debate

Did she or didn't she mean it?

That's the question at the heart of l'affaire Miley Cyrus, a firestorm lit last week by a series of Vanity Fair photographs featuring the billion-dollar-baby flashing some skin.

On one hand: Before the pictures pinged around the globe, Cyrus expressed regret and embarrassment, and Disney insisted that the 15-year-old Hannah Montana star had been manipulated.

On the other: Widely viewed video of the shoot shows a cooperative Cyrus posing at length with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus.

Team Cyrus has moved on, returning to bubble-gum form to promote the Disney Channel Games in Orlando, including a concert Saturday. Miley didn't refer to the photo flap from stage. But, the Associated Press reports, she saw a sign in the crowd that said, "Miley I'm praying for you." She responded: "I can't be more appreciative of that."

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Steve Jobs Stakes Out the TV Den

A week ago, the family was stuck on I-95 between Washington and New York for seven hours. The Meatgrinder, as it is affectionately known to us, had a little case of congestion and after five hours of quality time, we were reduced to silently hating the intermittent FM signal and the brake lights that framed our existence.

But after we hooked an Apple iPod to a doohickey that works with the radio, the car suddenly filled with an hour’s worth of storytelling from a podcast of “This American Life,” followed by some quality time with Taylor Swift, an improbably gifted teenage country star. The ability to program our temporary purgatory lifted the pall and before we knew it, we were home.

But once we went inside, we hit the halt button on Apple. There was the second season of “Friday Night Lights” on Netflix, “John Adams” from HBO on the digital video recorder and back copies of “Weeds” from Showtime, there for the plucking from the on-demand service.

While a lot of us carry a little bit of Steve Jobs around in our pocket, Apple is now after the remaining bit of life-share that it doesn’t already own, the home front.

On Thursday, the company announced deals with 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, among others, to sell movies for download on iTunes on the same day they are released on DVD.

The “day and date” downloaded movies (as they are called in industry jargon) will play only on Apple gadgets, but that characteristic may finally give the company the toehold in the American den that it has been looking for via Apple TV.

The movie business, because it makes its living on big fat video files that are harder to share than audio files, was able to watch and learn as the music industry shrank under the weight of pirated downloads and then reluctantly embraced a 99-cent solution from Mr. Jobs. And now every song, now and forever, is worth 99 cents, a price that attains for both the red-hot duet by Madonna and Justin Timberlake “Four Minutes,” and the forgotten B-sides he made when he was in a boy band.

The music companies still owned the songs, but Apple owned everything else — pricing, format, distribution and the lucrative revenue stream of manufactured devices.

When it comes to video, Apple has competition. Microsoft, Sony and Hewlett-Packard are vying to offer Web-enabled TV, while Amazon, Blockbuster, CinemaNow and Netflix sell movies digitally. So unlike the music companies, the movie studios seemed to be holding most of the cards.

They still might have blown it.

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Even the Insured Feel the Strain of Health Costs - New York Times

The economic slowdown has swelled the ranks of people without health insurance. But now it is also threatening millions of people who have insurance but find that the coverage is too limited or that they cannot afford their own share of medical costs.

Many of the 158 million people covered by employer health insurance are struggling to meet medical expenses that are much higher than they used to be — often because of some combination of higher premiums, less extensive coverage, and bigger out-of-pocket deductibles and co-payments.

With medical costs soaring, the coverage many people have may not adequately protect them from the financial shock of an emergency room visit or a major surgery. For some, even routine doctor visits might now take a back seat to basic expenses like food and gasoline.

“It just keeps eating into people’s income,” said James Corbin, a former union official who works for the local utility in Tucson.

Mr. Corbin said that under their employer’s health plan, he and his co-workers are now obliged to pay up to $4,000 of their families’ annual medical bills, on top of about $1,600 a year in premiums. Five years ago, they paid no premiums and were responsible for only about $2,000 of their families’ medical bills.

“That’s a big jump,” Mr. Corbin said. “You’ve just lost a month’s pay.”

Already, many doctors say, the soft economy is making some insured people hesitant to get care they need, reluctant to spend a $50 co-payment for an office visit. Parents “are waiting longer to bring in their children,” said Dr. Richard Lander, a pediatrician in Livingston, N.J. “They say, ‘The kid isn’t that sick; her temperature is only 102.’ ”

The problem of affording health care is most acute for people with no insurance, a group expected to soon exceed 48 million, but those with insurance say they too are feeling the pain.

Since the recession of 2001, the employee’s average cost of an annual health care premium for family coverage has nearly doubled — to $3,300, up from $1,800 — while incomes have come nowhere close to keeping up. Factor in other out-of-pocket medical costs, and the portion of the average American household’s income that goes toward health care has risen about 12 percent, according to the consulting and accounting firm Deloitte, and is now approaching one-fifth of the average household’s spending.

In a recent survey by Deloitte’s health research center, only 7 percent of people said they felt financially prepared for their future health care needs.

Shirley Giarde of Walla Walla, Wash., was not prepared when her husband, Raymond, suddenly developed congestive heart failure last year and needed a pacemaker and defibrillator. Because his job did not provide health benefits, she has covered them both through a policy for the self-employed, which she obtained as the proprietor of a bridal and formal-wear store, the Purple Parasol.

But when Raymond had his medical problems, Ms. Giarde discovered that her insurance would cover only $22,000, leaving them with about $100,000 in unpaid hospital bills.

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Online Programs That Let Parents Track Grades in Real Time Are Popular but Can Raise Stress - New York Times

Getty Images(woman) and Iconica/Getty Images(students); Illustration by The New York Time


ON school days at 2 p.m., Nicole Dobbins walks into her home office in Alpharetta, Ga., logs on to ParentConnect, and reads updated reports on her three children. Then she rushes up the block to meet the fourth and sixth graders’ buses.

But in the thump and tumble of backpacks and the gobbling of snacks, Mrs. Dobbins refrains from the traditional after-school interrogation: Did you cut math class? What did you get on your language arts test?

Thanks to ParentConnect, she already knows the answers. And her children know she knows. So she cuts to the chase: “Tell me about this grade,” she will say.

When her ninth grader gets home at 6 p.m., there may well be ParentConnect printouts on his bedroom desk with poor grades highlighted in yellow by his mother. She will expect an explanation. He will be braced for a punishment.

“He knows I’m going to look at ParentConnect every day and we will address it,” Mrs. Dobbins said.

A profusion of online programs that can track a student’s daily progress, including class attendance, missed assignments and grades on homework, quizzes and tests, is changing the nature of communication between parents and children, families and teachers. With names like Edline, ParentConnect, Pinnacle Internet Viewer and PowerSchool, the software is used by thousands of schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. PowerSchool alone is used by 10,100 schools in 49 states.

Although a few programs have been available for a decade, schools have been using them more in recent years as federal reporting requirements have expanded and home computers have become more common. Citing studies showing that parental involvement can have a positive effect on a child’s academic performance, educators praise the programs’ capacity to engage parents.

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Trying to Put a Name to a Face of Evil in Myanmar - New York Times

DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN? Ellen Page of “Juno” holds a picture of Myanmar’s dictator, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

“HITLER is alive in Burma” reads the words scrawled on a cardboard sign, held aloft by a sweet-faced Ellen Page, the “Juno” star, in a 90-second human-rights public awareness message that began showing on video-sharing Web sites last week.

The spot is one of 30 produced for U.S. Campaign for Burma, starring celebrities like Will Ferrell and Jennifer Aniston. They will be distributed on Fanista.com, a social-networking and entertainment retail site, then passed along to sites like YouTube and Google Video every day for the next month. The goal of the campaign is to thrust the cause of human rights in Burma — now known as Myanmar — into the orbit of A-list activist causes, along with Tibet and Darfur, and to encourage international pressure on a government that activists say is one of the world’s most oppressive.

Attention will not be easy to gain, never mind actually pressuring the government. As with other global campaigns, activists must figure out how to make Americans care about a distant crisis with complex causes involving relatively unknown players. And they must also make themselves heard in the glut of worthy causes, all with a chorus of earnest celebrities crying “Urgent!”

To do so, the Burma campaign has decided to use some of the same brand-building strategies — simplified narratives, clear-cut imagery and, of course, the most carefully selected celebrities — used by other successful aid agencies, or even consumer-goods marketers.

“In a certain sense, you have to ‘brand’ it up,” said Jack Healey, the founder of the Human Rights Action Center, a partner in the Campaign for Burma. “It’s the nature of the business now.”

And no wonder. The public today is bombarded by pleas to take action on global warming, Tibet, Darfur, breast cancer, starving children, Africans with AIDS, or Katrina victims, said Daniel H. Adler, the founder of Fanista.com. The company financed much of the series of spots, called “Burma: It Can’t Wait.”

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So Young, So Strong, So Fast and Oh So Very Sad - New York Times

Anyone who watched the Kentucky Derby on Saturday had to feel saddened and amazed — saddened, of course, by the death of the filly Eight Belles and amazed by the power of the winner, Big Brown. As a longtime very ambivalent fan of horse racing and a lover of thoroughbreds, I can’t help seeing what happened as a kind of paradigm of Thoroughbredness, if you want to call it that.

I have a friend who trains a jumper who is a relative of Eight Belles, a son of her grandsire, Unbridled. When my friend got the horse, a woman he knows, a steward at Santa Anita, told him to watch out, because Unbridleds tend to be unsound and fearless, and my friend has found this to be the case. Where most horses have at least some caution, my friend’s horse will try anything. His mental toughness and competitiveness always take over, no matter what the circumstances.

This is what we saw in Eight Belles: she was more resolute and competitive than was good for her, and she literally ran herself to death. When the race was finished, every part of her was exhausted, including, I am sure, the support apparatus of ligaments and tendons that were keeping her bones together. She probably stumbled and broke one ankle, then stepped hard on the other and broke that one. Then she fell.

But Big Brown was the other half of the equation. Big Brown looks to be a truly exceptional horse — exceptionally strong and exceptionally competitive, possibly the Secretariat of our day. When Eight Belles decided she wasn’t going to give up, she risked herself more than she would have with a lesser horse — and in general, male horses are stronger than female horses, which is why so few fillies run in the Derby.

Some people think there should be no horse racing. Certainly, horse racing as a spectator sport is staggering under the weight of these recent horrors — Barbaro, and now this. But as I’ve written elsewhere, without horse racing, there would be no thoroughbreds as we know them, and there is nothing like them. The thoroughbreds I have bred and trained and now ride, modest specimens all, are athletic, game and eager, full of energy and intelligence. Beautiful, too.

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Senator: Obama Has Dozens Of Secret Superdelegates Lined Up - Politics on The Huffington Post

Capitol Hill insiders say the battle for congressional superdelegates is over, and one Senate supporter of Barack Obama is hinting strongly that he has prevailed over Hillary Rodham Clinton.

While more than 80 Democrats in the House and Senate have yet to state their preferences in the race for the Democratic nomination, sources said Tuesday that most of them have already made up their minds and have told the campaigns where they stand.

"The majority of superdelegates I've talked to are committed, but it is a matter of timing," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). "They're just preferring to make their decision public after the primaries are over. ... They would like someone else to act for them before they talk about it in the cold light of day."

Obama currently holds an 18-13 lead among committed superdelegates in the Senate, while Clinton holds a 77-74 lead in the House. Asked which way the committed-but-unannounced superdelegates are leaning, McCaskill -- who has endorsed Obama -- said: "James Brown would say, 'I Feel Good.'"

Just this morning, Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley announced he would be supporting Obama, while Bill George, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, came out for Clinton.

UPDATE: More superdelegates declare. Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) has announced her support for Obama right here on HuffPost, and Indiana Rep. Baron Hill will endorse Obama tonight.

Meanwhile, Marc Ambinder reports:

Chelsea Clinton just bagged a superdelegate for her mother. The youngest Clinton is campaigning today in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A few moments ago, at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, Luisette Cabanas, an unpledged superdelegate, announced her support for Clinton, giving the campaign the majority of automatic** delegates on the island.

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Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily

When's the last time moviegoers were as excited as these GTA IV gamers?

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Kentucky Derby: Cocktail Recipes, Celebrity Betters, And, Of Course, Really Bad Hats (PICTURES) - Living on The Huffington Post

This Saturday's Kentucky Derby is right around the corner, so here's your guide to everything Derby-related. First up: Drinks!

Everybody's know that the most important aspect of Kentucky Derby day is drinking. Here is the official Kentucky Derby Mint Julep recipe:

Early Times Mint Julep

* 2 cups sugar
* 2 cups water
* Sprigs of fresh mint
* Crushed ice
* Early Times Kentucky Whiskey
* Silver Julep Cups

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of Early Times Kentucky Whisky. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

For some other drink options, you can check out Drink Of The Week, where they have Derby-themed recipes for drinks like "The Crown Of Roses" and the "Royal Stretch".

For ideas on how to serve those cocktails with panache (plus more recipes), read celebrity party planner Marcy Blum's post How To Throw A Killer Kentucky Derby Party.

Now that you're nice and liquored up, it's a great time to start gambling. Place your Kentucky Derby bets here or put all that Kentucky Derby money here. The race's official site also has a great list of websites for licensed and safe wagering.

It's customary to get all dolled up up for the Kentucky Derby, so generally people put a lot of work into it. Have a look at some celebrity attendees who have dressed to the nines over the years:

• • • • • • • • • • Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson in happier times

And, finally, the next best thing about the Derby is the horse names. At times absurd yet somehow regal, there's nothing more fun than trying to make up your own (Swift Pickle, anyone?). For some guidelines on how to name your horse, you can consult eHow's "How To Name A Racehorse".

Curious about the real-life horses? You can check out this rundown of the official Kentucky Derby contenders.

So now you're all set! How are you planning on spending the big day? Think we missed anything? Share all your recipes, plans, and ideas below!

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Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily » ‘IRON MAN’ IS SUMMER’S ROCKETMAN: Soars To $100M Weekend, $50M Overseas

SATURDAY PM: An insider just told me that Marvel's Iron Man has made at least $100 million for the 3 1/2 days of its opening release in North America. "We're having a fantastic Saturday," a source within distributor Paramount relays. "Most movies in this genre fall Friday to Saturday. Not this one!!!" The total wildly exceeded what Marvel and Paramount thought would be the comic book movie's realistic take from 4,105 theaters during its debut. I'm told the PG-13 action pic also has taken in a monster $50 million overseas from nearly 50 foreign territories.

SATURDAY AM: This is why Hollywood keeps making movies from comic books. Now it's official: Marvel's Iron Man opened with $38.5 million at Thursday's and Friday's box office for what will be $95 million in total domestic gross for the full 3 1/2 day release (including Thursday night's $5 million haul from advance screenings in 2,500 theaters, plus Friday- Saturday-and-Sunday's monster take in 4,105 venues). The PG-13 blockbuster distributed by Paramount logged in No. 1 as the best 2008 film opening, but also shoul finish among the Top 2 or Top 3 summer movies of the year as it kicks off the all-important May through August popcorn season. The $140 million production self-financed by Marvel also broke the record for the second biggest non-sequel opening of all time behind only Spider-Man 1. (With its unconventional leading man Robert Downey Jr -- which may be one secret to the film's success -- and director (Elf) Jon Favreau, the pic is the second biggest Marvel comic book movie character behind only Sony's Spider-Man franchise.) "Especially when we've had a horrid March and April, this shows people are ready to go to the movies," an insider says. I understand the Cinemascore was an A, and an A-plus with younger groups ages 18 to 24, and under 25. The movie like most comic book pics understandably skewed more male: I just saw the Cinemascore figures, and that gender gap was wide Friday night: 71% male-29% female filmgoers. (Interestingly, Iron Man insiders cite internal figures claiming it was 60%-40% "which bodes well for female audiences finding the movie and loving it.") According to Rotten Tomatoes, Iron Man is the best reviewed wide release so far this year -- 95% positive reviews -- and the best reviewed comic book movie in the website's (albeit brief) history. Meanwhile, distributor Paramount is milking this monster hit for all it's worth: it has attached the new trailer for its Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull to the showings of Iron Man.

OVERSEAS: Iron Man opened overseas as early as April 30th. I'm told that, in over 47 international territories, the pic made $30 million total over Wednesday and Thursday. This does not include the UK, where Iron Man debuts today, or Japan, where it opens in September.

The other major movie opening, Sony's Made Of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey, did respectably considering all the competition: I'm told it opened to $5.6M Friday from 2,729 venues for what should be a $16M FSS.

FRIDAY 9 PM: Sources just told me that Marvel's Iron Man will make $30-plus million from 4,105 theaters for Friday's domestic box office gross and should have an $80+ million North American weekend. (One rival studio thinks the pic did $32M Friday and definitely will earn high $80sM if not $90M for the 3-day weekend.) Meanwhile, Thursday night's take from advance screenings in about 2,500 theaters was a very big $5 million, sources tell me. And impressively that number was reached with almost no specific marketing at all to the preshows. Friday's total and new weekend projection far exceeded what the studio and distributor hoped (its 3-day FSS estimate was $65M-70M, or $75M for the 3 1/2 days). Iron Man will also mark the biggest movie opening of 2008 as it kicks off the all-important summer popcorn season.

WEEKEND PREDICTION: Latest projections by my box office gurus call for Iron Man to debut with a monster $75 million to $85 million 3-day weekend. That will make it the second best Marvel comic book character opening, second only to Sony's Spider-Man franchise. According to Rotten Tomatoes, as of noon today, Marvel's Iron Man is the best reviewed wide release so far this year -- 95% positive reviews -- and the best reviewed comic book movie in the website's (albeit brief) history. Nice way to kick off the summer popcorn season and great validation for Marvel's decision to self-finance its productions. (I'm told Iron Man came in at a cost of around $140M.) Tonight's showings begin around 8 PM in about 2,500 locations, then the pic rolls out super-sized to 4,105 theaters on Friday through Sunday. The distributor Paramount is still sticking with its $65M-$70M projected opening, "and anything over $70M is a home run."

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