“Godzilla” has cut a monster swath at the Chinese box office, bringing in a huge $36 million, the biggest opening ever in that market for distributor Warner Bros.
The remake of the classic big lizard tale from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. took in $38 million overall from 63 territories this weekend, and has now rung up $248 million from abroad. It’s at $191 million domestically, and has grossed more than $440 million worldwide.
IMAX theaters played a big part in the China haul, generating $4.5 million over the three days — deadlocking it with “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” for the biggest IMAX haul ever.
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Aaron Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen and Bryan Cranston star in “Godzilla,” which was directed by Gareth Edwards.
The only remaining major market for “Godzilla” is Japan, where it will open on July 25.
Warner Bros. received more good news from “Edge of Tomorrow.” The Tom Cruise sci-fi action film grossed another $37 million over the weekend to up its international total to $181 million worldwide and its worldwide haul to $238 million.
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Disney’s “Maleficent” added $37.2 million from 54 overseas markets and has now brought in nearly $273 million from abroad and more than $436 million globally.
Fox’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2” opened at No. 1 in all 25 foreign markets in which it debuted and brought in $24.8 million. The $12.8 million that it garnered in Russia ranks as the fifth-highest animated opening ever in that territory.
The studio’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” added $18.2 million from 74 markets to raise its international total to $457 million and its worldwide haul to $663 million.
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And “The Fault in Our Stars,” also from Fox, rolled out in 21 markets and grossed $16.4 million to up its foreign total to $39.3 million. The worldwide total for the adaptation of John Green‘s young-adult bestseller is now $120 million — or 10 times its production budget.
Disney’s animated musical “Frozen” held on to first in Japan for the 14th weekend in a row and brought its worldwide total to $1.25 billion.