Great Gatsby gamble pays off for Aussie director Baz Luhrmann Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann, pictured here at the Park Hyatt in Sydney, says his film is "a bona fide literary blockbuster." Picture: Nic Gibson/ Daily Telegraph Source: The Daily Telegraph CRITICS - who needs them? Baz Luhrmann's Jay Gatsby is packing enough box office muscle to knock even Iron Man from the No 1 spot. The audacious director got off the plane from Cannes to be greeted by the news that his $180 million adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary classic was at the top of the international box office, 10 days before its Australian release on May 30. The Great Gatsby took $42 million in its opening weekend across 49 territories, including Russia, the UK and France, narrowly topping Iron Man 3 ($40.2 million) and Star Trek: Into Darkness ($40 million). "It's good to see there's another superhero in town," said Luhrmann ahead of Wednesday's star-studded Sydney premiere to be attended by stars Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton and Elizabeth Debicki. This one wears a tuxedo and has a glass of champagne, but he's not James Bond. Returning to the city in which the film was shot, Luhrmann was keenly aware that he had just pulled off the biggest gamble of his 22-year career. "We've got a bona fide literary blockbuster on our hands," he said today. When does that happen? It ain't over till it's over, but the numbers are way above expectations. Gatsby has already taken $90 million in the US - significantly more than Academy Award nominee Moulin Rouge! ($57 million), Australia ($51 million) or Romeo + Juliet ($46 million) - and industry observers are predicting the total box office will reach $140 million. Despite Leonardo DiCaprio's decision to snub the film's Australian premiere in favour of some extra party time in Cannes, it's also shaping up to be his highest-grossing film ever. Great Gatsby star Leonardo DiCaprio has opened up about his party-hard days filming in Sydney. Before Gatsby opened, industry observers were questioning the wisdom of Warner Bros' decision to go up against the major tentpole releases of the US summer. "It was an extraordinarily big gamble," Luhrmann acknowledges. But that was before DiCaprio's Gatsby surprised Robert Downey Jr's Marvel superhero by beating him to the No 1 spot in the US - albeit for just one day. Far from gloating about Gatsby's roaring success, Luhrmann's initial response is one of relief- for "the crew, the cast, this city, this state, this country and the financier (Warner Bros) that took a crazy risk - no one funds adult drama. They must feel they weren't totally crazy to back this horse. Luhrmann's love of glittering excess, so derided by the critics, has taken the spectacle-driven superhero movies on at their own game. The film's success has also silenced the doubters who until now saw 3D as the domain of action adventures and sci-fi fantasies.