Iron Man 3 has record $21.5m opening in China

The light stuff: Robert Downey Jr in 'Iron Man 3'

Iron Man has outgunned the entire Avengers crew in China.

According to distributor Disney, Robert Downey Jr.'s solo sequel Iron Man 3 had a record opening in China with $21.5 million (£13.8 million) yesterday.

That tops the $17 million opening day for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. It also beats the $18 million haul that The Avengers took in over its first two days in China last year.

Since it began rolling out overseas last week, Iron Man 3 has climbed to $307.7 million worldwide. That's just a few million dollars shy of the international total Iron Man 2 pulled in over its entire run.

The film launches in American cinemas today.

PA