The Great Gatsby prevailed over the course of a remarkably close weekend at the international box office, edging out Star Trek and Iron Man 3 by a nose thanks to an estimated $42.1m haul.

Baz Luhrmann’s biggest debut played out on close to 8,400 screens in 49 territories hot on the heels of its Cannes opening night berth and draw approximately 4.6m admissions.

The Great Gatsby arrives in Australia on May 30, Mexico on May 31, Brazil on Jun 7 and Japan on Jun 14.

Gatsby generated $6.2m from 1,282 screens in Russia, $6.1m from 934 in the UK and a number one debut in France on $4.7m from 660.

South Korea delivered $4.3m from 559, Italy ranked number one on $3.8m from 664, Germany $3.7m from 718 and Spain and Taiwan also produced number one results on $2.2m from 540 and $779,000 from 101.

  • Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 continued to impress and grossed $40.2m through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International across most of the globe and DMG in China as the running total climbed to $736.2m.

In terms of international box office the film ranks number nine on the all-time pantheon and recently passed The Hobbit on $714m and Ice Age: Continental Drift on $716m.

The worldwide gross has reached $1.073bn and is also the ninth biggest film ever released in that category. Iron Man 3 has amassed $109m in China. 

  • Star Trek Into Darkness added $40m through Paramount Pictures International to double its score to $80.5m. Russia was the lead market once again with $8m from 750 sites

Overall the film played in 4,825 locations in 40 territories. The $80.5m running total is more than 80% ahead of Star Trek at the same stage in the same territories.

The UK generated a further $5.9m from 550 for $24m after two weekends, while $3.4m in Germany from 632 resulted in $12.5m to exceed the final lifetime gross of the first release.

Australia produced $3.3m from 263 for $10m and Mexico $1.6m from 570 for $5.6m.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters stands at $170m

  • Fast & Furious 6 roared out of the gates through Universal Pictures International and scored the studio’s biggest three-day opening weekend on $13.8m from 460, taking 48% market share and beating $13.1m set recently by Les Misérables.

The launch also set new records for Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson and registered the second biggest weekend launch of the year behind Iron Man 3 on $17.6m. Fast & Furious 6 arrives in North America and 59 international territories next weekend.

Oblivion grossed $4.7m from 7,000 sites in 50 to reach $173m. Jurassic Park 3D stands at $10.3m, Identity Thief $39.4m, Mama $73.2m and German production Hanni And Nanni 3 has grossed $3.3m four territories.

  • Fox International reported that Blue Sky Studios’ Epic launched on $14.6m from 4,674 in 16 mostly Latin American markets. A number one $3.5m result in Mexico from 1,416 led the way, followed by a number two $2.5m launch in Brazil from 616 and $2.3m in Germany from 2.3m.

Argentina produced $896,602 from 193 for number two, Venezuela $877,288 for number one and Columbia $701,523 for number one. Latin American results were exceptional across the board and there were further number one debuts in Peru, Central America and Uruguay.

DreamWorks Animations’ The Croods grossed $10.6m from 6,831 screens in 38 markets to stand at $375.9m.

  • Evil Dead added $5.6m through Sony Pictures Releasing International from 44 markets and stands at a respectable $27.3m, following a $3.2m number three debut in Germany on 257 screens.