With an enormous opening weekend, "Iron Man 3" proved that the first weekend in May is still one of the most lucrative of the year, as the highly anticipated Disney release racked up a stunning $175 million in the U.S. alone on a per venue average of more than $41,000 per site. Meanwhile, both "Oblivion" and "Pain & Gain" dropped off dramatically thanks to the presence of "Iron Man 3," while indie films "Mud" and "The Place Beyond the Pines" both ended up in the top 10 thanks to strong critical buzz and some positive word-of-mouth. It was also another nice weekend for "The Croods," which landed in the top five for the seventh consecutive weekend.
Even though there were a few solid weekend totals outside of "Iron Man 3," it was all about the latest blockbuster from distributor Disney. Thanks to some big midnight ticket sales on opening night and strong totals throughout the weekend, "Iron Man 3" ended up with a spectacular opening that ranks second all-time, finishing behind only the $207 million that "The Avengers" hauled in last year. "Iron Man 3" earned nearly $50 million more in opening revenue than "Iron Man 2," suggesting that the franchise is still on the up and up and that more installments are all but a guarantee.
"Iron Man 3" didn't just get off to a great domestic start, though, as it has also hauled in an unbelievable $504 million in foreign revenue already, pushing its worldwide total to $680 million worldwide after just one weekend. With these types of early numbers, it looks like a lock to easily shoot past $1 billion in total revenue in the next few weeks and it's now the clear favorite to end up the highest grossing release of 2013. "Iron Man 3" isn't likely to come near the $1.5 billion that "The Avengers" earned, but a total gross in the neighborhood of $1.3 billion now seems likely.
As "Iron Man 3" soared over the weekend, it was a rough one for Michael Bay's "Pain & Gain," which dipped more than 62% from its opening total to finish with a 10-day domestic haul of $33.92 million. Though that's a decent total for a $26 million production, "Pain & Gain" doesn't seem to have much of a future competing with the blockbusters of May, likely leading to a very quick decline and a so-so domestic total shy of $50 million when all is said and done.
Also taking a big hit over the weekend was Tom Cruise's "Oblivion," which plummeted 67% in its third weekend in theaters. With a PG-13 rating, "Oblivion" is the most direct competition for "Iron Man 3" and it doesn't seem to have much of an audience left after only 17 days in theaters. "Oblivion" has done well outside of the U.S., though, pushing its worldwide total to $222 million thanks to Cruise's international popularity.
"The Croods" also continued its strong box office run both domestically and abroad, helping it surge past $500 million in revenue in just under two months in theaters. Following its successful launch in mid-March, "The Croods" has seen minimal slides of less than 40% in domestic revenue each weekend since, bringing it to $168 million in the U.S. while it has latched on to family audiences. With its worldwide appeal, "The Croods" looks like the perfect franchise-starter and "The Croods 2" should see even higher revenue totals when its hits theaters in a couple years.
Next weekend, "Iron Man 3" should still find a very wide audience, but we also will get a couple of newcomers as well. Baz Luhrmann's delayed "The Great Gatsby" will finally hit theaters after missing its intended awards season release, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan starring in the latest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel. Also getting launched will be "Tyler Perry Presents Peeples," the second of three releases from the prolific director/producer. Early Studio Box Office Estimates for 5/3/13 - 5/5/13 (in millions), [RTT Prediction]:
1) Iron Man 3 (Disney): $175.30 [$152]
2) Pain & Gain (Paramount): $7.60 [$9]
3) 42 (Warner Brothers): $6.21 [$6.4]
4) Oblivion (Universal): $5.80 [$8.5]
5) The Croods (Fox): $4.23 [$3.9]
6) The Big Wedding (Lionsgate): $3.88 [$3.5]
7) Mud (Roadside Attractions): $2.15 [N/A]
8) Oz the Great and Powerful (Disney): $1.82 [N/A]
9) Scary Movie 5 (Weinstein/Dimension): $1.44 [$1.7]
10) The Place Beyond the Pines (Focus): $1.30 [$1.5]
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.