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Shares of Marvel Entertainment Inc soared almost 10 percent after “Iron Man,” its first self-produced film, had a dream run at the box office over the weekend, raking in more than $100 million in ticket sales, far exceeding expectations.

The comic-book publisher, which reported a first-quarter profit above market estimates and raised its 2008 outlook on Monday, also unveiled plans to release a sequel, “Iron Man 2,” in 2010 and three other films in 2010 and 2011.

Ticket sales for “Iron Man,” starring Robert Downey Jr, exceeded expectations of an opening in the $70 million to $80 million range for the three-day period beginning Friday.

“The reverberations of the success of ‘Iron Man’ will be significant in the industry and obviously for Marvel,” said David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Studios, in a conference call.

The film had the second biggest non-sequel opening of all time, according to box-office data provider Media by Numbers http://payday-z.com. The first was “Spider-Man,” another Marvel character, produced by Sony Corp’s Sony Pictures.

Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey said the company now has a franchise with “Iron Man” and it will give Marvel “a predictable level of consumer demand.”

Natexis analyst Alan Gould, who said “Iron Man” was “a fabulous opening for the company,” added that the film was expected to bring in $250 million at the domestic box office.

“Iron Man,” which cost about $150 million to make and $75 million to market according to some estimates, has generated an estimated $201 million in global box office to date. 

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U.S. drivers are likely to see little, if any, benefit from a suspension of the federal gasoline tax because there is no guarantee the savings would be passed on at the pump and cheaper fuel would only increase gasoline demand and ultimately drive up prices.

To give consumers some relief from record fuel prices, Republican presidential candidate John McCain and one of his Democratic rivals, Hillary Clinton, want to suspend the 18.4 cents per gallon tax on gasoline and the 24.4-cent tax on diesel fuel for the summer.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes the idea, saying it would not amount to much. House Democratic leaders have also shown little support for suspending the tax.

Waiving the fuel tax for the summer might be a good political move, but the average family would still have a tight budget after saving at the most about $30 in gasoline costs.

“A gasoline tax holiday is a mirage of price relief for consumers,” said Daniel Weiss, an energy expert at the Center for American Progress in Washington.

President George W payday advance online. Bush said this week he was willing to consider suspending the fuel tax. But U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said there would be only “marginal” benefits to consumers by waiving the tax. “I think it’s going to be a small temporary reduction in prices,” he told reporters this week.

Weiss said drivers should not assume they would receive a full price reduction of 18.4 cents a gallon at the pump if the government’s tax is waived — especially when service station owners, who now earn only a few pennies off each gallon of gasoline sold, would have a rare opportunity to increase profits.

“It’s up to each service station operator to lower the price by whatever amount they choose,” he said. “They don’t have to lower it at all.” 

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"Health Care for All: What’s Possible for Missouri" is the focus of a panel discussion at 7:30 a.m. on Monday at Central Reform Congregation in the Central West End.

Panelists will include Tim McBride, a professor who heads the division of health policy at the School of Public Health at St. Louis University, and Dr. Ira Kodner, who directs the Washington University Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values.

The free program is sponsored by Missouri Health Care for All, a coalition of faith and community leaders and organizations paydayloans.

For reservations or more information, contact Stacey Sickler at 314-531-4787 or ssickler@faithbeyondwalls.org.

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