After topping box offices around the world, and taking north of 5m. in its opening US weekend, it very quickly became a question of not if, but when would Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 reach the $1bn. mark?
We’ve been expecting Iron Man 3 to become the latest member of that elusive club for some time now, and its early numbers across the globe confirmed that it was well on its way from the early stages of release. And now, twenty-three days later, it has officially joined the club and passed the threshold.
Black’s Iron Man 3 becomes the sixteenth member of the $1bn. club, joining the ranks most recently added to by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, and (of course) The Avengers.
The latest blockbuster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe took the second-highest opening of all time in the US, second only to Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. And reaching the billion-dollar mark in just twenty-three days is yet another outstanding feat for the studio.
The Avengers jointly holds the title for fastest film to a billion with Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, with all three reaching the threshold in just nineteen days.
But, unlike Avatar and Harry Potter, The Avengers’ Stateside release followed a week after its debut at the international box office, and Iron Man 3 saw a similar release strategy, opening at the end of April in the vast majority of international territories, before Marvel’s usual slot in the first weekend of May in the US.
Having only been playing at the US box office for two weekends, and most other box offices for three, I’m really looking forward to seeing just how high Iron Man 3 reaches on the highest-grossing films of all time list.
We’re not expecting it to top The Avengers, which holds a strong position in third place with just over $1.5bn., particularly with the likes of Star Trek Into Darkness, Fast and Furious 6, The Hangover Part III, and After Earth still to open this month. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the latest Marvel blockbuster settle in somewhere around fourth or fifth place, with Harry Potter’s $1.34bn. and Transformers: Dark of the Moon’s $1.12bn. very much still to play for.
Source: Box Office Mojo.
