As of Monday night, I projected that Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo (Warner Bros) would win this final pre-Iron Man (Paramount) weekend, and I’m standing by that, although I don’t expect any new film or holdover to top $15M.

Industry tracking suggests that the Harold & Kumar “legend” has grown exponentially since their first adventure in 2004 that delivered a modest $18.25M. I’m told that this stoner comedy has a Total Aware above 70% and more than 60% of Males Under 25 have Definite Interest. One reason this call is tough is that the picture sports an R rating, but with a over 30% of Males Under 25 calling it their First Choice, I’m going out on a limb and forecasting a win.

Kal Penn and John Cho have become the latter day Cheech & Chong thanks to DVD, cable and midnight movies. In the first H&K adventure, a convoluted trip to White Castle, they gave us gems like this:

Harold: I want 30 sliders, 5 french fries and 4 large Cherry Cokes.
Kumar: I want the same except make mine Diet Cokes.

Young males are predictable. When they say that they’re interested, they tend to show up on opening weekend. I say Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo will deliver $14.5M on opening weekend, and that should translate to about $30M domestic by the time it finishes its domestic run.