UPDATED: The first tentpole of summer 2013 rolled out at the international box office a week ahead of its May 3 North American debut. 
 
 Marvel Studios and Disney's Iron Man 3 has blasted into the stratosphere overseas, opening to $198.4. million from 42 markets to beat last year's global blockbuster The Avengers, which debuted to $185.1 million internationally. 
 
 Box office observers agree that Iron Man 3 is playing more like a sequel to last summer's The Avengers -- which featured a myriad of Marvel superheroes, including Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man -- than a follow-up to Iron Man 2, which posted a foreign opening of roughly $100 million in 2010. 
 
 BOX OFFICE: 'Croods' Crosses $300 Million Overseas 
 
 The mammoth foreign opening bodes well for the tentpole's domestic prospects, and is already whipping up speculation as to whether the threequel can match or better Avengers in North America. Avengers debuted to $207.4 million domestically, the top number of all time. 
 
 Disney president of worldwide distribution Dave Hollis didn't want to speculate as to whether Iron Man 3 could reach that number but said the film is clearly off to a stellar start. "To say we are beyond encouraged is an understatement," he said. 
 
 Iron Man 3, another victory for Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feig, is breaking a slew of records overseas, scoring the biggest opening weekend ever Asia Pacific and Latin America, and in individual countries including Argentina, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. It also scored the top Marvel opening in another raft of markets. 
 
 VIDEO: 'Iron Man 3' Trailer Shows a Tense Tony Stark 
 
 Teaming Downey with franchise newcomer, director Shane Black, Iron Man 3 opened at the international box office ahead of its May 3 North American launch, as Iron Man 2 did in 2010. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle also are returning cast members. 
 
 Iron Man 3, which has been well received by critics so far, is playing in roughly 80 percent of the foreign marketplace, excluding major markets Russia and China, where DMG Entertainment put up some of the financing. 
 
 It saw its biggest gross in the U.K. ($21.5 million), followed by Korea ($19.2 million), Australia ($18.4 million), Mexico ($16.1 million), France ($14.7 million), Brazil ($12.3 million), Italy ($11.2 million), Taiwan ($8.4 million), Philippines ($7.4 million), Japan ($5.4 million), India ($5.2 million), Spain ($5 million), Hong Kong ($4.9 million), Malaysia ($4.6 million) and Indonesia ($4.5 million), among other markets. 
 
 The tentpole broke numerous records for 113 IMAX theaters, which took in $7.2 million for a per screen average of $64,000, coming in ahead of any Marvel title, including Avengers. 
 
 Twitter: @PamelaDayM 
 
 Below, the cast of Iron Man 3 talks with THR on the red carpet at the film's premiere: 

 This film image released by Paramount Pictures shows, from left, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie and Mark Wahlberg in a scene from "Pain and Gain." (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, Jaime Trueblood) (Associated Press) 
 
 "Iron Man 3" is the heavy-lifter at theaters with a colossal overseas debut that overshadows a sleepy pre-summer weekend at the domestic box office. 
 
 The superhero sequel starring Robert Downey Jr. got a head-start on its domestic launch next Friday with a $195.3 million opening in 42 overseas markets. 
 
 Sunday studio estimates show director Michael Bay's true-crime tale "Pain & Gain" muscled into first-place domestically with a $20 million debut. 
 
 The movie starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie knocked off Tom Cruise's sci-fi adventure "Oblivion" after a week in the No. 1 spot. "Oblivion" slipped to second-place with $17.4 million, raising its domestic total to $64.7 million.
– Iron Man 3 hasn't even opened in the United States yet, but its global premiere got off to a thunderous $195.3 million start this weekend—even trouncing the $185.1 million mark set by last year's The Avengers, reports the Hollywood Reporter. That bodes well ahead of its American premiere on Friday, underscoring its chances of unseating The Avengers' record $207.4 million domestic opening. "To say we are beyond encouraged is an understatement," says a studio exec. This weekend's domestic numbers were much more modest, adds the AP: Mark Wahlberg's Pain & Gain posted a $20 million debut for the No. 1 spot, while Tom Cruise's Oblivion dropped to No. 2 with $17.4 million.