Iron Man and Golden Girl Set Record Breaking Weekend

Iron and Gold broke new viewer benchmarks this past weekend.
Iron Man and Golden Girl Set Record Breaking Weekend
Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire Tony Stark in 'Iron Man 2.' Industrial Light & Magic/Marvel
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<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/ironman2_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/ironman2_medium.jpg" alt="Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire Tony Stark in 'Iron Man 2.' (Industrial Light & Magic/Marvel)" title="Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire Tony Stark in 'Iron Man 2.' (Industrial Light & Magic/Marvel)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-105132"/></a>
Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire Tony Stark in 'Iron Man 2.' (Industrial Light & Magic/Marvel)
Iron and Gold broke new viewer benchmarks this past weekend—that is Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man 2” and former “Golden Girls” actress Betty White, who hosted Saturday Night Live.

Iron Man, Robert Downy Jr.

“Iron Man 2” raked in an estimated $133 million dollars in the United States alone and also sits on top of the global box office. The film is among the top releases ever and marks distributor Paramount Pictures largest opening weekend.

“Iron Man” star Downey Jr.’s career surged two years ago, with the unexpected success of the first “Iron Man” film. His spot-on rendition of the Marvel Entertainment character was the second biggest hit of the summer of 2008, bested only by “The Dark Knight.”

Iron Man is the superhero persona of Tony Stark, a billionaire, who creates a metallic-armored suit that gives him the ability to fly and other super powers that he uses to fight crime.

Marvel, now a unit within the Walt Disney Company, is slated to release a third “Iron Man” film following the release of a collaborative super-hero-ensemble movie entitled “The Avengers.” Marvel characters included in the story line include Iron Man (Downey Jr.), The Hulk (potentially Edward Norton), Thor (potentially Chris Hemsworth), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Captain America (Chris Evans), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Black Widow (potentially Scarlett Johansson).

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/bwhite_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/bwhite_medium.jpg" alt="88-year old actress Betty White is the talk of the blogosphere after a Facebook campaign landed her a gig as host of Saturday Night Live (SNL) this past weekend. Here she is pictured with SNL alumni (L-R) Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, herself, Tina Fey, Rachael Dratch, and Ana Gasteyer. (Dana Edelson/NBC)" title="88-year old actress Betty White is the talk of the blogosphere after a Facebook campaign landed her a gig as host of Saturday Night Live (SNL) this past weekend. Here she is pictured with SNL alumni (L-R) Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, herself, Tina Fey, Rachael Dratch, and Ana Gasteyer. (Dana Edelson/NBC)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-105133"/></a>
88-year old actress Betty White is the talk of the blogosphere after a Facebook campaign landed her a gig as host of Saturday Night Live (SNL) this past weekend. Here she is pictured with SNL alumni (L-R) Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, herself, Tina Fey, Rachael Dratch, and Ana Gasteyer. (Dana Edelson/NBC)
In addition to the success of his “Iron Man” franchise, Downey Jr. is also alternating between his other hit film series “Sherlock Holmes.”

Golden Girl, Betty White

In an exciting Mother’s Day themed Saturday Night Live, comedic actress Betty White, 88, played host and brought the show its best ratings in 18 months. White has had a long storied career in film, television, and radio, and she’s best known for her 1980s hit sitcom, “Golden Girls.”

In her opening monologue, she cracked jokes on both her age and on the younger generation. She thanked website Facebook, as it was a viral campaign on the social networking that eventually got her the gig. Then she joked that after she learned what the website was, she felt that it was a big “waste of time.” Proving she’s still has her comedy chops as she nears 90 years old, her timing on punch lines, and deadpan delivery made for one of the most memorable late night performances in years.