Iron Man did what any self-respecting superhero would do and took the world by storm this weekend, grossing an estimated $201 million in theaters around the world and covering star Robert Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau with laurels.

Robert Downey Jr. has made a most memorable comeback with his much-lauded portrayal of wealthy weapons manufacturer John Stark/comic book superhero Iron Man in the Marvel Comics big screen adaptation.

Not only was “Iron Man” eagerly anticipated as a bona fide good movie, a sensible adaptation of the comic book and a job well done from Favreau, Downey and costars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard, with almost unanimously positive reviews from film critics, but its golden status was confirmed over the weekend due to a stellar box office performance.

The film made just over $100 million in the U. S. and nearly doubled its intake with overseas ticket sales, making it this weekend’s box office champion and a titan among titans. Produced by Marvel Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film had a budget of $135 million.

“Iron Man” kicked off the summer movie season by comfortably ranking 10th among Hollywood’s biggest opening weekends and garnering the second best ever premiere for a non-sequel (behind 2002’s “Spider-Man,” with $114.8 mil).

“Made of Honor” came a distant second, raking in a decent $15.5 million. The romantic comedy, starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan, did not hold that well with film critics, who found fault with the script and perhaps with Dempsey’s casting as a youthful lothario.

Rounding out the top five are the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy “Baby Mama,” with $10.3 million, the raunchy comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” at No. 4 with $6.1 million, followed at No. 5 by “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” with $6 million.

One year ago, “Spider-Man 3” was entering Hollywood history with the biggest three-day opening of all time, at $151.1 million, a title it still maintains. This explains the 13 percent box office decline from the same weekend last year.