‘Iron Man 3’ passes $300 million internationally

After only eight days of release, Iron Man 3 has already surpassed the $300 million mark at the international box office — and the $200 million Disney/Marvel release is only getting started.

Driven by a $65.6 million Wednesday gross, Iron Man 3’s international total climbed to $307.7 million. For reference, Iron Man 2 earned a $311.5 million international TOTAL back in 2010, and Iron Man 3 will soar right past that figure today. Though the threequel, which stars Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, got off to a faster start than The Avengers overseas (Iron Man 3 opened to $198.4 million; The Avengers bowed with $185.1 million), it will be very tough or Iron Man 3 to match that film’s $888.4 million international total. We’ll have to wait and see!

Iron Man 3’s huge Wednesday at the box office was driven by incredible business in China, where the film earned an estimated $21.5 million yesterday — the best opening day in box office history. Looks like Disney’s plan to court favor with Chinese audiences is already paying off. Here’s the country-by-country breakdown of how the film is doing so far:

Gross-to-date by country

Korea – $27.6M

Mexico – $26.8M

United Kingdom – $26.8M

France – $22.6M

Australia – $21.6M

*China – $21.5M

Brazil – $20.4M

Italy – $14.5M

Taiwan – $11.3M

Philippines – $10.0M

Japan – $9.6M

Hong Kong – $7.9M

Malaysia – $7.8M

Indonesia – $7.5M

India – $6.8M

Spain – $6.6M

*Germany – $3.1M

*Thailand – $1.6M

Other markets – $53.6M

*Iron Man 3 has only played in these territories for one day

The superhero blockbuster will open in theaters across North America tonight, and it’s expected to earn at least $150 million during its domestic opening weekend. Stay tuned for the full box office preview, which will post later this afternoon.

See the original article at EW.com.