After repulsor-blasting international box office records last weekend, Iron Man 3 opened to a $175.3 million haul in this weekend's U.S. theater debut for Marvel Studios and parent Walt Disney (DIS 0.16%), according to tracking estimates from Hollywood.com.
Pain and Gain from Viacom's (NASDAQ: VIA) Paramount Studios ranked second, with $7.6 million at the gate, while 42 from Time Warner's (TWX) Warner Bros. studio earned $6.2 million, according to figures compiled by Box Office Mojo.
Iron Man 3's $175 million take was the second-largest domestic debut in U.S. box office history. Marvel's The Avengers opened at $207 million last May, kicking off a 22-week run that would end with the film earning more than $1.5 billion at the global gate.
Yet Iron Man 3 isn't winning over audiences as well as The Avengers did, so the chances of a similar performance appear slim. Still, with a half-billion already in the books overseas, and $680 million worldwide, the $1 billion performance I predicted a month ago now looks assured:
Source: Tim Beyers, The Motley Fool.
Disney stock is up marginally in weekend trading. On Friday, the stock closed up 1.4% on justified enthusiasm for Iron Man 3's opening. Official projections had called for at least $150 million in weekend grosses, even as the signs pointed to an even bigger blowout. Consider:
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Early reviews at Rotten Tomatoes were stellar and remain strong as of this writing: 78% of reviewers and 83% of audiences say they liked the film.
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Iron Man 3 broke box office records in China even as its product placement strategy angered some local bloggers.
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The official movie video game rose to near the top of the iTunes Store download charts upon release.
Did you see Iron Man 3 this weekend? Did you like the film? Please leave leave a comment to let us know what you think and whether you'd buy, sell, or short Disney stock at current prices.
