For the "Iron Man" franchise, the third time was the charm. According to numbers released by Disney, the studio's "Iron Man 3" grossed $175.3 million during its opening weekend, the second biggest debut ever behind only last year's "Marvel's The Avengers," which was also released by Disney.
Coupled with an international gross over $504.8 million thus far, "Iron Man 3" has already earned $680.1 million around the globe. That gives the Shane Black film a bigger worldwide tally than the lifetime theatrical tallies of either "Iron Man" ($585 million) or "Iron Man 2" ($624 million). "Iron Man 3" also topped the global totals of "Thor," "Captain America: The First Avenger" and "The Incredible Hulk."
On the all-time list of domestic openings, "Iron Man 3" surpassed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" ($169.1 million) to nab the runner-up position behind "Marvel's The Avengers" ($207.1 million). The two other films in the top five are "The Dark Knight Rises" ($160.8 million) and "The Dark Knight" ($158.4 million). (Unlike "Marvel's The Avengers," "Iron Man 3" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," neither Batman film was presented in 3D.) With its opening weekend, "Iron Man 3" bumped "The Hunger Games" ($152.5 million) from the top five.
The strong start for "Iron Man 3" gives Marvel Studios the top two spots on the all-time list. For star Robert Downey Jr., "Iron Man 3" represents his third $100 million debut since 2010 ("Iron Man 2" and "Marvel's The Avengers" being the others); he has starred in four of the top 25 biggest openings ever. More fun with Downey: This is his sixth film since 2008 to top $500 million around the globe (four Marvel films and the two Sherlock Holmes movies). If "Iron Man 3" crosses $1 billion, it will put Downey on the short list of lead actors with multiple films over that monetary threshold, alongside Christian Bale and Johnny Depp.
Elsewhere at the box office over the weekend, "Pain and Gain" finished in second place with just $7.6 million, "42" landed in third, and "Oblivion" and "The Croods" rounded out the top five.
For more on the box office, hit Box Office Mojo.com. Check out the list of the biggest opening weekends at the North American box office below.
