Hollywood Box Office : Iron Man 3 passes the 1 billion-dollar mark

Iron Man 3 passes the $1 billion mark.

Iron Man 3 has already grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office Thursday, making one of the very few films to have crossed that mark.

The third installment of the highly successful franchise grossed over $700 million in the international market and raked over $300 million in the U.S., making it a major triumph for Disney.

The company invested heavily on comic book superheroes after buying Marvel Studios for a whopping $4 billion in 2009.

Disney’s decision to cast a Chinese partner for Iron Man 3 and focus the marketing on a largely booming international market all paid the studio efforts well.

The Robert Downey, Jr.-starred captured the biggest opening day ever. In the international market, it earned more than $100 million in China, making it the movie’s biggest market.

Korea ($56 million), U.K. ($49 million), Mexico ($43 million), Russia ($39 million), Brazil ($38 million), France ($36 million) and Australia ($33 million) followed suit.

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In the U.S., the film also holds the record as the second highest grossing film on its debut, grossing $175 million, next only to the The Avengers.

Iron Man 3 has outgrossed Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($963 million), Jurassic Park ($967 million) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ($975 million).

Meanwhile, Iron Man 3 is the sixth Disney film to gross over $1 billion internationally. The Avengers, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Toy Story 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Alice in Wonderland, were the other billion-dollar earners.

No other studio could match this record held by Disney.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons