Iron Man 3 tops The Avengers' international opening

Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has got off to a flying start, with the Shane Black-directed Iron Man 3 enjoying a spectacular $195.3 million debut from 42 international markets, putting it ahead of Joss Whedon's mega-blockbuster The Avengers, which pulled in an international opening of $185.1 million last year. Robert Downey Jr.'s third solo adventure had been tipped to bank around $100 million over the weekend, which would have put it on par with the previous instalment Iron Man 2. The movie has been tracking a domestic opening of around $160 million, but with the sequel performing well above expectations internationally Disney and Marvel Studios must surely be hoping that Iron Man 3 can now put up a challenge to The Avengers' record North American opening of $207.4 million.

By the time that Iron Man 3 opens in the States on May 3rd, it's likely to have already surpassed the entire world-wide gross of The Incredible Hulk ($263.4), and should overtake Captain America: The First Avenger ($368.6 million) and Thor ($449.3 million) by close of play next weekend. Thanks to The Avengers effect, it's looking all but assured that it will surpass Iron Man ($585.2 million) and Iron Man 2 ($623.9 million) by the end of its run, and the $1 billion dollar mark looks a real possibility. However, Iron Man 3 is unlikely to enjoy the same kind of repeat business as last year's superhero team-up, so it would be a huge surprise if it managed to match the $1.511 billion haul posted by Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Iron Man 3 also stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as Iron Patriot, Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin, Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, James Badge Dale as Savin and Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan. The film is out now in the UK and opens in North America on Friday. Read our spoiler free reviews here and here.