10 Biggest Superhero Movie Opening Weekends Of All Time

3. Iron Man 3

Release date: May 3, 2013

Opening weekend total: $174.1 million

Call it a true testament to the Marvel brand, the way that Robert Downey Jr. became Tony Stark and the popularity of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe era. After Iron Man 2 disappointed (creatively, not financially), it would be natural to expect a bit of a drop-off for its follow-up.

Uh, not exactly. Iron Man 3 took things to the next level on its opening weekend in 2013, flying by the second and third Dark Knight films by a comfortable margin and setting a new mark for a solo superhero movie.

Though it told a bit of a strange story, with Tony holed up in a small town making repairs to his armor with the help of a kid and pulled an audacious bait and switch with its villain, it didn’t seem to matter for the first three days of release. And let’s face it, this movie is better than Iron Man 2. That’s damning with faint praise, to be sure, but if an Iron Man sequel deserves to be this high on the list, it’s this one.

Next: 2. Avengers: Age of Ultron