Iron Man 3 was the number-two movie in China’s 2013 box-office rankings. It earned roughly $121–124 million in the Chinese market, behind the Chinese fantasy comedy Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.
Released in China on May 1, 2013, Iron Man 3 benefited from the enormous popularity of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. China was also the film’s largest overseas market after North America, an important achievement at a time when Hollywood studios were paying increasing attention to Chinese audiences.
The film included scenes featuring Chinese actors Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing in an extended Chinese version. Those scenes were designed partly for the Chinese market, although they had little effect on the main international release. A common mix-up is confusing China’s annual ranking with the worldwide ranking: Iron Man 3 was the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2013, but it ranked second in China behind a domestic production.