Iron Man 3 has second biggest US box office opening ever but can't beat The Avengers

Iron Man 3 has had the second biggest opening weekend ever at the box office in North America.

The film, starring Robert Downey Jr, made $175.3m (£112.6m) in Canada and the US this weekend, more than the nine other films in the current US top ten combined.

However, Iron Man 3 still lags behind fellow Marvel film The Avengers- which claims the title for the most successful North America opening- despite beating it in the first 24 hours at the international box office.

The Avengers made $207.4m (£133.3m) at its opening weekend in the US and Canada when it was released in May 2012.

The third instalment of Iron Man 3 has enjoyed continued international success, taking $63.5m (£41m) on its opening weekend in China, for a total worldwide gross of $680m (£437m) at the box office.

The plot of Iron Man 3 follows on from The Avengers, which also starred Downey Jr as Iron Man.

The actor has cast doubt among fans as to whether he will return for the next instalment of the film franchise.

However, Iron Man 3 director Shane Black said at the London premiere: “I think he’ll be back for another one. I’m sure of it.”

Downey Jr stars alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall and Ben Kingsley in the film.