UPDATED: The Disney tentpole's North American debut is bested only by Marvel pic "The Avengers"; the threequel has taken in a massive $504.8 million internationally, led by China with $63.5 million.
The summer spectacle has begun.
Kicking off the season with the pedal to the metal, Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man 3 made the record books as it opened to $175.3 million from 4,253 theaters in North America, the No. 2 debut of all time behind fellow Marvel pic The Avengers ($207.4 million), also starring Downey as Iron Man. Iron Man 3 received a glowing A CinemaScore from audiences, fueling word of mouth.
Overseas, the Disney and Marvel threequel grossed $175.9 million in its second weekend, putting the 3D movie's worldwide total at $680.1. Internationally, Iron Man 3 - the first title in the franchise to be released in 3D -- is matching Avengers overseas, where 3D remains a big draw. China leads with a whopping $63.5 million, the top opening of all time for a Marvel film.
In North America, Iron Man 3 played across all age groups, although the film skewed male overall (61 percent). There was a good turnout among moviegoers under the age of 25 (45 percent)), while 45 percent of the overall opening gross came from 3D tickets.
Iron Man 3 -- which has a strong shot of joining an elite club of films ultimately grossing $1 billion or more -- is a sizeable victory for Marvel and parent company Disney, giving them the top two slots on the list of all-time North American openings as Iron Man 3 beat out the final Harry Potter pic ($169.2 million).
Box office observers say that threequel is playing more like a sequel to Avengers, than to Iron Man 2, which debuted to $128.1 million on the same weekend in 2010.
The tentpole's performance propelled Disney to cross the $1 billion mark at the international box office.
Helmed by franchise newcomer Shane Black, Iron Man 3 shattered a number of other records in its worldwide assault, including scoring the top-grossing Saturday of all time in North America ($62.2 million) save only for Avengers ($69.6 million).
Overseas, the movie scored the biggest weekend of all time in Southeast Asia and many regions of Latin America, as well as in Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UAE.
Equally as impressive, Iron Man 3 has already surpassed the total global box office of Iron Man ($585 million), Iron Man 2 ($624 million), Thor ($449 million) and Captain America ($369 million).
The movie also shattered records for IMAX, which took in $30 million globally over the weekend for acume of $40.2 million.
The threequel sees the return of Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark's girlfriend Pepper Potts and DonCheadle as James Rhodes. Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall join the superhero series as characters threatening the stressed-out Stark.
Although Iron Man 3 sucked up much of the oxygen, several films made gains, including Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon drama Mud, from director Jeff Nichols. From Roadside Attractions and FilmNation, the specialty pic climbed to No. 7 in its second weekend, although it is only playing in 576 theaters. The movie grossed $2.2 million for a cume of $5.2 million.
Sony Pictures Classics saw solid business for Danish diretctor Susanne Bier's romantic dramedy Love is All You Need, starring Pierce Brosnan as a widow who takes up with a younger woman, played byTrine Dyrholm. The film grossed $38,954 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a location average of $9,729 (Iron Man 3 nabbed the top theater average of the weekend with $41,218).
Below are the top 10 estimates for the May 3-5 weekend at the North American box office.
Title, weeks in release/theater count, studio, three-day weekend total, cume
1. Iron Man 3, 1/4,235, Disney/Marvel, $175.3 million
2. Pain & Gain, 2/3,227, Paramount, $7.6 million, $33.9 million
3. 42, 4/3,345, Warners/Legendary, $6.2 million, $78.3 million
4. Oblivion, 3/3,430, Universal, $5.8 million, $76 million
5. The Croods, 7/2,915, Fox/DreamWorks Animation, $945K, $165.5 million
6. The Big Wedding, 3/2,633, Lionsgate/Millennium, $3.9 million, $14.2 million
7. Mud, 2/576, Roadside Attractions, $2.2 million, $5.2 million
8. Oz the Great and Powerful, 9/1,160, Disney, $1.8 million, $228.6 million
9. Scary Movie 5, 4/1,857, The Weinstein Co., $1.4 million, $29.6 million
10. The Place Beyond the Pines, 6/1,162, Focus/Sidney Kimmel, $1.3 million, $18.7 million
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