Strong $100m opening for 'Iron Man'

Iron Man took a mighty $100.8 million (£51m) at the North American box office in its opening weekend.

The movie, starring Robert Downey Jr. as a man who transforms himself into the ultimate fighting machine, reaped a further $96.8m (£49m) internationally, including a hefty $10.3m (£5.2m) in the UK.

The domestic figures make the film - the first from comic publisher Marvel - the tenth highest-grossing opener ever. It is also the second highest-grossing opener for a non-sequel, behind only Spider Man ($115m / £58m).

The top ten at the US Box Office:

1. (-) Iron Man - $100.8m
2. (-) Made Of Honor - $15.5m
3. (1) Baby Mama - $10.3m
4. (4) Forgetting Sarah Marshall - $6.1m
5. (2) Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay - $6.0m
6. (3) The Forbidden Kingdom - $4.2m
7. (5) Nim's Island - $2.8m
8. (6) Prom Night - $2.5m
9. (7) 21 - $2.1m
10. (8) 88 Minutes - $1.6m