Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s earthquake epic “San Andreas” rolled into China and took in $51 million in its debut, fueling a $97.8 million weekend at the overseas box office.
That meant the 3D disaster saga was the top-grossing movie abroad for the second weekend in a row, with a total of $188 million. Its $27 million second-week domestic haul lifted “San Andreas” to just under $100 million total, so the $110 million special effects extravaganza is bearing down on $300 million in global grosses for New Line and Warner Bros., and co-financier Village Roadshow.
The big weekend for “San Andreas,” directed by Brad Peyton and produced by Beau Flynn, allowed it to turn the tables on Melissa McCarthy’s “Spy,” which beat the earthquake epic at the North American box office this weekend.
The R-rated comedy directed by Paul Feig took $25.6 million from abroad from 55 markets and was the runner-up internationally. With its $30 million domestic total, “Spy” brought in roughly $56 million in its first weekend of global release for Fox.
Jason Blum‘s micro-budgeted “Insidious: Chapter 3” was third domestically and third globally as well. It took in $14.3 million from 43 markets in its overseas debut for Sony, which is handling it overseas. Focus Features’ niche label Gramercy Pictures is distributing domestically.
Warner Bros. can also celebrate “Mad Max: Fury Road,” a co-production with Village Roadshow, which crossed has crossed $300 million at the worldwide box office.
Written and directed by George Miller, the action extravaganza starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron took in $11 million from 71 foreign markets this weekend to lift its international total to $185 million and $315 million worldwide. Overseas will be the key to profitability for the $150 million production.
“Pitch Perfect 2,” Universal’s musical comedy starring Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick, topped $250 million globally this weekend. It’s up to $160 million domestically and $89 million overseas, well over the $50 million from abroad that the original film managed.