The opening day tally was about even with Iron Man's first-day take of $35.2M from this weekend a year ago when it launched the summer blockbuster season. Earning stellar reviews, the Robert Downey Jr. actioner got off to a slightly different start with its first shows starting at 8pm on Thursday night resulting in $3.5M in pre-midnight previews leading into a $98.6M Friday-to-Sunday gross for a total of $102.1M in three-plus days. Wolverine began its journey at midnight on Thursday night with roughly $5M in ticket sales from those first shows which are included in the Friday tally.

Hugh Jackman's fourth round as the sharp-clawed mutant did not reach the $59.8M opening day figure of 2007's Spider-Man 3 which still holds the box office record for the largest debut for the first weekend of the summer. The Spidey sequel went on to bank $151.1M over three days on its way to a $336.5M domestic final. It still ranks as the second largest opening in history after only The Dark Knight's $158.4M from last July.

Wolverine did, however, match up nicely to the $31.2M opening day of X2: X-Men United which also launched on the first weekend of May back in 2003. The first X-Men sequel reached $85.6M during its opening frame on its way to a $214.9M final. Despite facing internet piracy and the current spread of swine flu, Wolverine may be on track to reach a similar three-day figure.

Studios compete ferociously to secure the first weekend of May for their major tentpole films since moviegoers are generally in the mood for the first wave of new action blockbusters and a lack of competition means a movie can monopolize the attention of both moviegoers and the media. Plus with other summer event films not in the marketplace yet, more screens in each multiplex can be secured to absorb maximum business. Generally they earn 36-40% of the entire weekend gross on Friday. Friday percentages for recent summer kickoff films include 36% for last year's Iron Man, 40% for Spider-Man 3, 38% for Jackman's 2004 vehicle Van Helsing, and 37% for X2. Iron Man 2 has already locked in the first Friday in May next year for its much-anticipated launch.

The last film in the mutant series, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, was extremely front-loaded collecting a whopping 44% of its three-day gross of $102.8M on Friday. It was also panned by critics and disliked by fans so negative word-of-mouth may have contributed to the erosion it suffered over the course of its debut frame. By comparison, Wolverine has met with slightly better reviews. Plus Last Stand opened in late May when more students were out of school and more able to go to the movies all day on Fridays.

Still, with the biggest opening day gross of any film this year, X-Men Origins: Wolverine could find its way to the $84-89M range this weekend kicking off the summer movie season with a bang.

Studios often counter a super hero tentpole opening with the release of a wedding-themed romantic comedy aimed at women and couples and this weekend was no different. Warner Bros. debuted the Matthew McConaughey-Jennifer Garner pic Ghosts of Girlfriends Past on Friday and fared well grossing an estimated $6.5M in its first day of play. It was a better opening day performance than last year's Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey which bowed to $5.5M when it faced off against Iron Man. That film reached $14.8M over the course of its debut weekend.

The Ghosts gross fell a bit short of the opening day takes of McConaughey's previous rom-coms How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch which launched with $8.1M and $8.5M, respectively, on their way to $20M+ opening weekends. Ghosts should still deliver a solid start despite bad reviews and settle into the $17-19M range over the Friday-to-Sunday period.

Among sophomore holdovers, Friday-to-Friday declines were 61% for Obsessed, 64% for Fighting, and only 41% for The Soloist.

Despite Wolverine opening about $10M below Iron Man, the overall top ten could still match or exceed the $148.4M from last year thanks to stronger holdover pictures.

Check the NEW box office chart of summer kickoff movies from 1996 to 2008.

For NEW reviews of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past visit The Chief Report.

Check back on Sunday for the complete weekend box office report.