April 29, 2013- The big budget blockbuster – which stars Robert Downey Jr. as Marvel’s billionaire superhero Tony Stark – surpassed last year’s epic superhero team-up movieThe Avengers by grossing nearly $200 million around the world in 42 countries.
The film’s total haul, which includes openings in Europe, Asia, Australasia and South America, exceeds the $185.1 million earned by The Avengerslast year.
Disney’s distribution executive Dave Hollis told Variety: “The surprise is the magnitude of this opening, not necessarily that audiences are responding to the movie. We believe this to be a strong indication of what will lead to extraordinary word-of-mouth worldwide.
“As people start reading headlines of the size of this opening, I suspect it will act as a catalyst for the Thursday night opening Stateside.”
Rabid fans in the United Kingdom led the way, where the flick grossed $21.5 million in its opening weekend, while Korea and Australia fought for second place with $19.2 and $18.4 million respectively.
The action movie’s blockbuster takings are all the more impressive as it has yet to open in the United States, Russia, Germany and China.
Iron Man 3 is predicted to shatter the overseas grosses of its predecessors, 2008’s Iron Manand 2010’s Iron Man 2, and it is on course to open with $120 million when it hits cinemas in the US on May 3.
