LONDON — “Iron Man” did not buckle under the weight of expectation in its debut frame in Europe, where it got the summer blockbuster season off to a start in some style.

Demonstrating its B.O. metal, “Iron Man” comfortably topped the charts in all five major Euro territories.

The best result came in the U.K. where the tentpole pocketed $13.8 million at 500 locations in its opening four days (including previews of $1.3 million taken May 1). The three day weekend figure without previews was $9.5 million.

Despite sunny weather over the Bank Holiday weekend, which traditionally sends sun-starved Brit auds rushing outdoors — “Iron Man” delivered on the optimistic pre-release expectations that were fuelled by lots of buzz, an aggressive campaign by Paramount and decent reviews.

“ ‘Iron Man’ has proved a real weather beater,” said an exhib, adding “What better way to get the summer season up and running.”

The “Iron Man” U.K. opening is especially impressive given the actioner also faced challenges from the April 29 blockbuster release of male-skewed vidgame “Grand Theft Auto IV” and lots of televised crunch soccer matches over the weekend.

The two other main new releases — family friendly “Nim’s Island” and female-skewed romantic comedy “Made of Honor” — fared okay.

Universal’s third-placed “Island” banked $1.6 million at 393 Friday-to-Sunday and Sony’s fourth-placed “Made of Honor” took $1.5 million at 348. Both releases posted screen averages north of $4,000.

Holdover pics showing the best traction were Colin Farrell starrer “In Bruges,” Mike Leigh’s comedy “Happy-Go-Lucky” and animated arthouse offering “Persepolis.” The upmarket trio dipped just 27%, 25% and 20% in their ninth, third and second frames, respectively.

In Italy, "Iron Man" flexed its muscle to magnetize $5 million from 509 for Universal in an otherwise flat four-day May Day holiday frame.

Only other decent Italo bow was “Saw 4,” which scared up $2.3 million off 317 over five days via 01 Distribuzione, in the number two spot.

Richard Gere starrer “The Hunting Party” bowed at a dud $657,000 from 255 via Mikado at number five, while Wes Anderson's India-set "The Darjeeling Limited" did a bit better, opening with $290,000 off 70 via Fox at number 10.

Vera Belmont’s Holocaust-themed "Surviving With Wolves” wasn’t a survivor in Italy, bowing at $38,800 on 43 via Warner Bros. for the frame’s lowest per-screen average — $918.

Among holdovers, Fox's “Meet the Spartans,” in third place, took a 69% drop in its second frame for $545,000 off 265. "Spartans" has a $3.2 million running cume.

In Spain, “Iron Man” nabbed a powerful $6.1 million off 554 over its first five days. Jon Favreau's pic also posted the best copy-average — $6,048.

Although “Iron Man” accounted for 39% of total trade, some bookers’ opening expectations were a touch higher. Next week, "Iron Man" will be put to the test by the “Speed Racer" opening. "Pic will then have to show its metal," added a second booker.

Filmax's "88 minutes" trailed 'Man" by a long shot, cuming a first five-day $1.1 million off 170.

DeAPlaneta's romcom "My Mom's New Boyfriend" bagged $715,480, at a modest $2,227 copy average. The Antonio Banderas-Meg Ryan duo didn't prove as seductive as bookers had forecast.

Fox's "Street Kings" and Warner's "Fool's Gold" dropped 41% and 44% respectively in their soph seshes. Running cumes are $2.3 million for "Kings" and $2 million for "Gold."

Among local holdovers, Warner's "Chef's Special" dipped 27% in its fourth frame for a juicy cume of $5.3 million. Losing traction, On Pictures' "Elegy" slid 42% for a $2.3 million in its third sesh.

"Iron Man" did not disappoint in its Gallic box office bow, pulling a hearty $7.2 million on 667 Wednesday to Sunday via SND.

Otherwise, French-made product continued its powerful showing. Local helmer Jean Becker's "Deux jours a tuer" (Love Me No More) opened very strongly for StudioCanal on the back of good critical reception. Toplining Albert Dupontel as a successful fortysomething family man making everyone in his life pay dearly for his midlife crisis, it made $2.3 million on 396 in its first five days. Another new release, laffer “15 ans et demi,” toplining Daniel Auteuil, managed nearly $1.3 million on 343 for Gaumont from Wednesday to Sunday.

Off by 42% in its second frame, local crime comedy caper "Cash" has cumed over $6.3 million on 523 for TFM.

Local megapic "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" (Welcome to the Sticks) continues on its way to shattering all records in Gaul. With over 19.7 million French tickets sold as of Sunday, it's a mere 1.2 million short of usurping “Titanic” for the prize of biggest box office performer in the country's history.

Off 34% on the week after 10 frames, its national cume now exceeds $185 million on 800 for Pathe. Only the Euro's sharp recent drop against the greenback stymies the figure from pushing the $200 million mark.

"Iron Man" soared to the top of the charts in Germany, where pic generated a whopping 48.5% boost at the box office, but the May Day holiday and warm sunny skies proved a major challenge.

Pic garnered $3.4 million from 632 locations. The okay performance was on par with local exhib expectations in view of the spring climate and Thursday's May Day holiday, which meant many folks took off for a four-day holiday.

The decent but unspectacular take also reflects the difficulty faced by most superhero pics in Germany, where costumed comicbook crimefighters have generally failed to impress auds unfamiliar with their exploits. While the "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" franchises have proved more successful in Germany, 2005's "Batman Begins" and 2006's "Superman Returns" both opened with only $2.3 million, while last year "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" debuted with just $1.2 million.

Yet strong reviews and Robert Downey Jr.'s critically acclaimed performance look likely to guarantee long legs for the actioner. "Iron Man" has already proved a success for local distrib Concorde, which enjoyed its first number one hit since 2005's "The Brothers Grimm" and the best opening day box office since 2003's "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life."

Disney's local teen drama "Sommer" followed in second with a little more than a $1 million for a running cume of $4.9 million in its third frame. In third, "21" took in $773,134 toward a $6 million total in its fourth session, followed by "Fool's Gold," which garnered $728,589 on its way to a $2 million total in its second week.

Rounding out the top five, Constantin's local hit "The Wave" pulled in $684,408 in its eighth frame for a running cume of $20.7 million.

Among the week's other new entries, Warner's "The Pleasure of Your Company" opened in sixth with $474,226 from 104 while Constantin's animated feature "Urmel voll in Fahrt" sputtered in eighth with just $403,350 from 403.

Additional reporting by Ed Meza (Germany), Emilio Mayorga (Spain), Nick Vivarelli (Italy) and David Hayhurst (France).