IRON MAN, the superhero film starring Robert Downey Jr, is a certified hit worldwide.

In Singapore, the film opened at No. 1, taking in a staggering $2,676,881 over five days since it opened last Wednesday, said a spokesman for United International Pictures, which distributes the blockbuster here.

'It was surprising because Iron Man is not a well known character,' said the spokesman, who added that more famous characters like Superman or Batman can usually expect to see these kinds of sales.

Transformers, while panned by critics, was a summer blockbuster, and made around US$246 million (S$336 million) in international sales in its first weekend.

Iron Man has already grossed around US$201 million in international sales.

In the United States, where the movie opened over the Labour Day weekend, it made US$104 million and enjoyed the 10th-best three-day opening ever, making it the No. 2 debut of all time for a non-sequel (behind only Spider-Man's US$114.8 million).

Both industry insiders and movie-goers say it is a watershed in recent movie history - both for the industry which has been lacking in event movies and for IronMan's leading man.

Downey Jr has never fronted a movie that grossed US$100 million during its entire run, let alone in one weekend.

It's also a big boost for director Jon Favreau, who has yet to truly capitalise on his previous hit, Elf, which bowed in 2003 with US$31.1 million, before topping out at $173.4 million, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Mr Rob Moore, president for marketing at Paramount, told the New York Times: 'What I think this says about themarketplace is that if we make really entertaining movies, people will show up for them.'

He said Iron Man delivered the best opening weekend of any live-action film in Paramount's entire history.

Fans seem to agree, saying that Iron Man has been one of the better movies to come out of studios in the past year.

Singaporean Mr Nigel Tay, 31, who works in the movie and toy collectibles industry, called the movie 'damn good', saying that it is one of the best movies so far this year.

'Iron Man also had an element of darkness to it that was intriguing,' added Mr Koh Keen Heng, 29, a motion graphics designer who cited Batman Begins (2005) as the last good superhero movie that he has seen.

A variety of factors propelled Iron Man to strong results: the pent-up demand for an event movie and Paramount's huge marketing campaign to create interest for a lesser-known comic book hero.

Marvel's decision to cast the seasoned actor in the title role also helped woo adults who otherwise might have skipped a superhero flick.

'Downey Jr played Stark's playboy character perfectly,' said Mr Tay. 'He kept the character true to how he was portrayed in the comic books.'

Marvel and Paramount are discussing a sequel although Favreau has not yet signed on for a second instalment.

But fans are already excited about the second coming.

'I'd like to see Favreau directing again,' said Mr Koh. 'It'd be good to see more development with Tony Stark, even if I did notice that he was wearing eyeliner all through the first movie.'

Iron Man is playing in cinemas

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