I look at Austin Powers the same way I look at the Pink Panther series. First one was great and original for its time, second was funny but it had been done before, third and beyond felt forced and unfunny.
Seconded...the awesome thing about the first movie was it totally came out of left field.
And actually, I don't even remember the first movie being all that popular when it first came out...you'd see handfuls of nerds running around quoting it, like the same types of people who spew lines from "Monty Python And The Holy Grail" but that was about it.
It became a hit when it came out on video though.
I didn't think you were right but you are.
International box office totals:
5/2/1997 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery ,683,989
6/10/1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 9,600,000
7/25/2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember
2,738,626