Where last summer’s The Avengers broke not only the domestic opening weekend record, but in a dozen international markets, Iron Man 3 is already beating it out with $195.3M at the international box office.
Disney and Marvel Studios are happily sharing Iron Man 3′s impressive overseas box office numbers before the weekend’s out, emphasizing the importance of the summer-start release date and Robert Downey Jr. as the quintessential face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here are the highlights Disney noted:
International Highlights
- Biggest opening weekend ever in: Argentina, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore
- Biggest opening day ever in: Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia
- Biggest Marvel opening weekend in: Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Argentina, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines and Malaysia
- #1 film in every market and is the biggest opening weekend of all time in Asia Pacific and Latin America
- UK – $21.5M
- Korea - $19.2M
- Australia - $18.4M
- Mexico - $16.1M
- France - $14.7M
- Brazil - $12.3M
- Italy - $11.2M
- Taiwan – $8.4M
- Philippines – $7.4M
- Japan - $5.4M
- India - $5.2M
- Spain - $5.0M
- HK - $4.9M
- Malaysia - $4.6M
- Indonesia - $4.5M
- Other - $36.5M
- Total - $195.3M
It’s safe to say Iron Man 3 will cross the billion dollar mark, justifying its role as the first chapter of Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also raises expectations for Thor: The Dark Worldand Captain America: The Winter Soldier, while also emphasizing the importance of Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, all of whom have contracts ending with this film. As RDJ is acutely aware, he and his agent are in the best position in Hollywood and were smart to wait for the film to open before renegotiating contract extensions. For the Disney camp, like Johnny Depp with Pirates of the Caribbean, RDJ is crucial to the future of the franchise and they will need to sign him for The Avengers 2 and possibly even Iron Man 4. The film’s domestic performance will be very telling and may alter the course of the future of the franchise.
Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black based off of his and Drew Pearce’s screenplay, and stars Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Stephanie Szostak, Jon Favreau, Rebecca Hall, William Sadler, James Badge Dale and the voice of Paul Bettany.
Iron Man 3 releases May 3, 2013, Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014, The Avengers 2 on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on November 6, 2015, and Doctor Strange sometime after that.
Let me know on Twitter @rob_keyes your box office predictions for Iron Man 3!
Sources: Disney, The Wrap