‘Iron Man 3’ has second best box office debut in history

LOS ANGELES - Agence France-Presse

Robert Downey Jr. poses with an Iron Man during a promotional event.REUTERS photo

Super-hero blockbuster sequel “Iron Man 3” smashed to the top at the US box office with a mega $175.3 million take, the second best opening weekend ever, industry estimates showed May 5.

The film starring Robert Downey Jr as the title character now sits behind just “The Avengers,” another Walt Disney comic book superhero flick, which earned $207.4 million when it opened a year ago.

The US opening of Iron Man 3 demolished the franchise’s previous debuts, with $98 million for the first movie and $128 million for the sequel, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

In second place for this weekend’s box office was action-comedy “Pain and Gain,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, with $7.6 million in ticket sales.

 Not far behind was “42,” a biopic about trailblazing black baseball star Jackie Robinson, which made $6.2 million The fourth spot, with $5.8 million, went to “Oblivion,” the post-apocalyptic action flick starring Tom Cruise, followed by “The Croods,” a stone-age cartoon, in fifth, with $4.2 million.

“The Big Wedding,” a star-studded comedy featuring Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton and Robin Williams, came in sixth place, taking in $3.9 million.

“Mud,” a coming-of-age story starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, earned an estimated $2.2 million, for seventh place.