'Iron Man 3' blasts off US blockbuster summer

Super-hero blockbuster sequel "Iron Man 3" smashed to the top at the US box office with a mega $174.1 million  take -- the second best opening weekend ever -- industry figures showed Monday. 

The film starring Robert Downey Jr kicked off what could be a record summer for blockbusters, based notably on sequels to lucrative franchises including the latest "Fast and Furious" and "Hangover" movies, expert say.

Worldwide the comic book superhero flick has taken over $680 million in less than two weeks since opening in much of Europe and Asia late last month, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

At the US box office "Iron Man 3 rocketed straight to second place in the all-time openings, perhaps appropriately behind last year's "The Avengers" -- in which the metal-suited superhero co-starred -- which earned $207.4 million

The Walt Disney film's debut "is the ultimate kick starter for the summer box office, as it will ... electrify audiences, getting them psyched to see upcoming releases," said Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock told AFP.

"That certainly bodes well for the rest of the season, one that will look to top the high water mark of $4.4 billion set in 2011."

The US opening of Iron Man  3 demolished the franchise's previous debuts, with $98 million for the first movie and $128 million for the sequel, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Blockbuster movies due out in the coming months include "Star Trek: Into Darkness" in two weeks' time, which Bock said will likely provide the second $100+ million opener of the summer.

Then Memorial Day weekend at the end of May will see the release of both "Fast & Furious 6" and "The Hangover: Part III," while next month sees "Man of Steel," an updated version of the Superman story.

The near-record debut of "Iron Man 3" left the rest of this week's films trailing way behind at the North American box office.

In second place for this weekend's box office was action-comedy "Pain and Gain," starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, with $7.5 million in ticket sales, Exhibitor Relations said.

Not far behind was "42," a biopic about trailblazing black baseball star Jackie Robinson, which made $6.1 million

The fourth spot, with $5.6 million, went to "Oblivion," the post-apocalyptic action flick starring Tom Cruise, followed by "The Croods" -- a stone-age cartoon -- in fifth, with $4.2 million.

"The Big Wedding" -- a star-studded comedy featuring Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton and Robin Williams -- came in sixth place, taking in $3.9 million.

"Mud," a coming-of-age story starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, earned an estimated $2.2 million, for seventh place, the film's first week in the top ten after going into wide release a week earlier.

And in eighth, Walt Disney's 3D fantasy adventure flick "Oz the Great and Powerful" earned $2.1 million, for a nine-week total of $228.9 million.

"Scary Movie 5," the latest installment in the slasher-comedy franchise, took the ninth spot with $1.4 million.

Rounding out the top 10 at $1.3 million was "The Place Beyond the Pines," starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper in a drama about a motorcycle stunt rider who resorts to bank robbery to provide for his lover and their newborn child.