'Iron Man 3' grabs $21.5M in China opening day

This undated publicity photo released by Marvel shows Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man in a scene from Marvel's "Iron Man 3." The movie releases in the U.S. Friday.

LOS ANGELES  — 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 today.

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 U.S. theaters with early screenings ahead of its official Friday release.