Iron Man 3 surpassed the billion dollar mark in the worldwide box office Thursday (May16), $300 million of which was brought in domestically. The third installment of the blockbuster flicks led by Robert Downey Jr., reached the milestone in just 23 days. Becoming the 16th film to gross $1 billion, Iron Man 3 cost $200 million to make and is the most successful in the series. The film easily edged out its predecessor, which grossed $623.9 million in global ticket sales three years ago. Iron Man 1 bowed out with $585.2 million. More than 50 percent of its success comes from overseas, with the film doing well in China, Korea, Mexico, and the U.K. Additionally, Iron Man 3 has become Vietnam and Malaysia’s top grossing film of all time. Domestically, Iron Man 3 has held the top box office spot since its May 3 release. The addition of Baz Luhrmann‘s glitzy-adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s The Great Gatsby boasted healthy competition last week, grabbing a $51.1 million debut, but faltered compared to the Marvel-studios produced film’s $72.5 million gross.

via:hiphopwired