Iron Man 3 has stormed the US weekend box office charts.
Marvel’s latest super-hero epic earns a massive $175.3 million in its first weekend of release, giving the Robert Downey Jr-starring movie the second highest opening in US history.
Iron Man 3‘s box office taking was bested only by fellow Marvel film The Avengers‘ $207.4 million in 2012.
Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain falls to second place after topping last weekend’s box office standings, taking nearly $8 million this weekend.
42‘s dramatization of pioneering African-American baseball star Jackie Robinson holds third place, nearly a month after its initial release.
Oblivion – starring Tom Cruise – drops to fourth place in its third week on release, with its earnings falling by 67%.
The top five is rounded out by animated comedy The Croods, which features the voices of Emma Stone and Nicolas Cage.
The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Iron Man 3 – $175,300,000
2. (1) Pain & Gain – $7,600,000
3. (3) 42 – $6,210,000
4. (2) Oblivion – $5,800,000
5. (5) The Croods – $945,000
6. (4) The Big Wedding – $4,225,000
7. (11) Mud – $2,150,000
8. (13) Oz the Great and Powerful – $1,822,000
9. (7) Scary Movie 5 – $1,435,000
10. (9) The Place Beyond the Pines – $1,298,000