'Iron Man 3' has earned $195.3 million in five days.

The big budget blockbuster - which stars Robert Downey Jr. as Marvel's billionaire superhero Tony Stark - surpassed last year's epic superhero team-up movie 'The Avengers' by grossing nearly $200 million around the world in 42 countries.

The film's total haul, which includes openings in Europe, Asia, Australasia and South America, exceeds the $185.1 million earned by 'The Avengers' last year.

Disney's distribution executive Dave Hollis told Variety: "The surprise is the magnitude of this opening, not necessarily that audiences are responding to the movie. We believe this to be a strong indication of what will lead to extraordinary word-of-mouth worldwide.

"As people start reading headlines of the size of this opening, I suspect it will act as a catalyst for the Thursday night opening Stateside."

Rabid fans in the United Kingdom led the way, where the flick grossed $21.5 million in its opening weekend, while Korea and Australia fought for second place with $19.2 and $18.4 million respectively.

The action movie's blockbuster takings are all the more impressive as it has yet to open in the United States, Russia, Germany and China.

'Iron Man 3' is predicted to shatter the overseas grosses of its predecessors, 2008's 'Iron Man' and 2010's 'Iron Man 2', and it is on course to open with $120 million when it hits cinemas in the US on May 3.