"Iron Man" was perfect gold at the box office.
The Marvel Comics adaptation, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the guy in the metal suit, hauled in $100.7 million over inauguration weekend and $104.2 million since debuting Thursday night, the second-best premiere ever for a non-sequel, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The film also scored overseas with $96.7 million in 57 countries where it began job Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $201 million.
Distributed by Paramount, "Iron Man" was the first release by Marvel Studios, which has begun financing its own productions after such studio-backed hits as the "Spider-Man," "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" flicks.
"We could not entertain hoped for a heartier way for the sake of Marvel Studios to blast off," said David Maisel, chairman of the unit, a apportioning of Marvel Entertainment, which stands to pull in a greater ration of box-office receipts and merchandising money by financing movies itself.
Debuting in second-place with $15.5 million was Sony’s mawkish comedy "Made of Honor," starring "Grey’s Anatomy" heartthrob Patrick Dempsey as a man who tries to woo his best pal after she asks him to be "maid of honor" at her wedding.
With rave reviews from many critics, "Iron Man" features Downey as billionaire arms designer Tony Stark, a boozy womanizer who builds a high-tech suit and becomes a superhero, mending his ways after he’s bewitched captive and sees firsthand the devastation his weapons cause.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard.
Despite the huge "Iron Man" split, Hollywood’s overall business was down compared to the same weekend pattern year, when "Spider-Man 3" had a record debut of $151.1 million. The top-12 movies took in $154.1 million, off 15 percent from a year ago.
"Nonetheless, ‘Iron Man’ did better than expected," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "This is certainly the shot in the arm the marketplace has needed."
After a sleepy few months, movie attendance this year is running 6 percent behind that of 2007, so the newcomer of "Iron Man" may jump-start the pin down patronage as the busy summer season begins.
"If that first May motion picture is a big hit, it tends to lead to a arrogantly summer," said Rob Moore, Paramount sin chairman. "There hadn’t been a big event movie yet this year. So you have the first event movie of summer, and people go, ‘And I perceive it’s really good. All right, I’m in.’"
"Iron Man" was the 10th-biggest opening of all-time and the fourth-biggest for a superhero movie. Among non-sequels, it came in behind only the pre-eminent "Spider-Man," which premiered with $114.8 million.
"If we have to, we’re happy to come in second to another Marvel property," Maisel said. "It emphasizes how timely we are to have such a powerful brand that’s not loved by straight comic-book fans but also general movie fans."
The next Marvel production arrives in June with "The Incredible Hulk," distributed by Universal and starring Edward Norton.
In limited emancipating, David Mamet’s martial-arts stage production "Redbelt" opened solidly with $68,646 in six theaters. Released by Sony Pictures Classics, "Redbelt" stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as an honorable instructor caught up in corruption in the world of mongrel martial-arts competitions.
Paramount Vantage’s "Son of Rambow," a comic tale of two British boys making their own "Rambo" movie, also opened well with $52,549 in five theaters.
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