Iron Man 3 Flies to the Top of the Charts
Robert Downey Jr.’s billionaire playboy superhero propelled Disney’s Iron Man 3 to a near-record $175.3 million take in the May 3 weekend box office. It was the second highest domestic debut in Hollywood history, trailing the $207 million debut of The Avengers last year. But the future of Downey’s wise-cracking, atomic-powered Tony Stark is questionable: The movie hints he may hang up his sci-fi hardware and high-tech weaponry for a normal life.
Robert Downey Jr. stars in Iron Man 3. (The Disney Studios)
The film so dominated weekend ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada that it made more than 23 times the second-place finisher, Pain & Gain, an action crime comedy about weightlifters who double as extortionists, which raked in $7.6 million and stars Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg.
Capturing third place was the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 about the Brooklyn Dodger legend who shattered baseball’s color line, which pulled in $6.2 million. Grabbing the fourth spot was the post-apocalyptic, sci-fi Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, which managed only $5.8 million.
| This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N/A | Iron Man 3 | $174.1M | $174.1M | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Pain & Gain | $7.5M | $33.8M | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | 42 | $6.1M | $78.2M | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | Oblivian | $5.6M | $75.8M | 3 |
| 5 | 5 | The Croods | $4.2M | $168.7M | 7 |
| 6 | 4 | The Big Wedding | $3.9M | $14.2M | 2 |
| 7 | 12 | Oz: The Great and Powerful | $2.1M | $228.9M | 9 |
| 8 | 7 | Scary Movie 5 | $1.4M | $29.6M | 4 |
| 9 | 6 | The Place Beyond the Pines | $1.3M | $18.7M | 6 |
| 10 | 6 | G.I. Joe: Retaliation | $1.3M | $118.8M | 6 |
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.
