Iron Man no match for Christian Grey

South Africans prefer sex to action on the big screen.

Fifty Shades of Grey has officially surpassed Iron Man 3 as the film raking in the most money over an opening weekend in the country. Based on the novel by EL James, the film has made more than R14-million since opening at local cinemas on Friday.

Starring Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, Fifty Shades was the top weekend box office draw in more than 55 countries - from Argentina to Ukraine. It earned a record $81.7-million (R951.4-million) in ticket sales from Friday to Sunday in the US and Canada alone and $158-million in the rest of the world.

Ster-Kinekor Theatres marketing executive Doug Place said: "In addition to it being the biggest box office for one day [in the company's history], it was also the biggest Valentine's Day draw, beating the previous cinema attendance record by 14%."

• Three women were arrested at a cinema in Glasgow, Scotland, at the weekend following an alleged attack on a man at a showing of the film, the BBC reported.

Police said the women - aged 51, 38 and 31 - were arrested for alleged disorder offences and alleged assault. No one was seriously hurt. The cinema owner was quoted by the BBC as saying: "Despite press reports, nobody was glassed and a wine bottle was not used as a weapon."

Additional reporting by Reuters