LOS ANGELES – Iron Man reigns as the standard-bearer of Hollywood superheroes with a $175.3 million domestic opening weekend for his latest sequel and an overseas haul of a half-billion dollars in less than two weeks.
According to studio estimates Sunday, Iron Man 3 has raced to a worldwide total of $680.1 million. That includes $175.9 million in its second weekend overseas, where the film has rung up $504.8 million so far.
No other solo superhero — not even Batman or Spider-Man — has managed this kind of business.
Yet the future of Marvel Studios’ flagship franchise is in the hands of a mortal man with no metal armour, gadgets or special powers, other than his ability to rebound from Hollywood pariah to hottest star on the planet.
Iron Man 3 had the second-biggest domestic debut ever, behind the $207.4 million start over the same weekend last year for The Avengers, which teamed Downey’s Stark with other Marvel Comics heroes. The new sequel surpassed the $169.2 million opening for 2011’s Harry Potter finale, the previous second-place debut.
In just nine days, the film shot past the $312 million international total for Iron Man 2 in its entire theatrical run.
Among the overseas totals so far: $63.5 million in China, $42.6 million in South Korea, $38.3 million in Great Britain and $35.8 million in Mexico.
Domestically, Iron Man 3 far outpaced the franchise’s first two movies. Iron Man launched the series with a $98.6 million domestic debut in 2008, while 2010’s Iron Man 2 opened with $128.1 million.
The film also opened higher than last year’s Batman finale The Dark Knight Rises ($160.9 million) and the biggest of the Spider-Man movies ($151.1 million for Spider-Man 3).
Pain & Gain was the No. 2 movie on the weekend, earning $7.6 million. The baseball flick 42 slid into third place with $6.2 million.
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