Will Smith used to be the one with a reputation for releasing blockbuster flick after blockbuster flick but that torch seems to have passed to Robert Downey Jr., star of the blockbuster Iron Man 3 which just wrapped up the second highest domestic opening of all time. According to BoxOffice.com, Iron Man 3 snagged an astonishing $175.3 million in the U.S. and Canada making it subordinate only to The Avengers (of which Downey Jr. was a cast member) in opening weekend revenue.
Ticket sales have been so high in fact, that Iron Man 3 worldwide sales have already topped total gross sales of the film’s predecessor Iron Man 2. International sales over the weekend were on par with domestic, raking in $175.9 million. Iron Man 3 was released overseas before its U.S. debut and has garnered an astonishing total $680 million to date. The Avengers boasted an opening weekend of just north of $200 million and has recorded a worldwide gross of roughly $1.5 billion, a number that Iron Man 3 will likely close in on but unlikely leapfrog.
Interestingly, in a report by the Wall Street Journal yesterday, the movie’s box office performance was helped in large part by China. The WSJ said, “Since opening there Wednesday, “Iron Man 3″ has collected $63.5 million in the country, easing worries that Chinese moviegoers were becoming more interested in domestic productions than in Hollywood imports.”
The budget for Iron Man 3 was reportedly approximately $200 million which was earned back last Friday when it had just landed in U.S. theaters. Reviews are equally rich so far with popular movie aggregator and critique site Rotten Tomatoes giving it a respectable 78% approval rating with the audience chiming in with 83%. Similarly, IMDB gives Iron Man 3 a dignified 7.8 stars out of 10.
Now its time for all you readers to do your best Roger Ebert impression and play amateur critic in the comments section below. Is Iron Man 3 just as good as its box office worth? How does it compare to the first two installments of the series? Did the continuity of The Avengers help bolster the movie’s momentum? Leave your own review’s with us and don’t pull any iron-fisted punches.
