The 3D rerelease of "Titanic" recorded the best box office opening ever in China this weekend, claiming $58 million for international distributor Fox.
Universal got some good news, too. It opened its pricey "Battleship" in 26 territories — not including China — and took in $58 million. That represents a pretty good payoff on the studio's early overseas opening strategy. The movie will roll out in the U.S. on May 18.
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The huge China opening for "Titanic" and receipts from 69 other territories upped the global haul in its second overseas weekend to $88.2 million. That gives James Cameron's epic $190.8 million worldwide from a rerelease timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the ship's sinking.
The previous record for an opening in China was set last year, when "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" opened to $55 million on its way to a $145 million haul in that country. "Titanic" played at 3,500 locations.
With a $1.84 billion gross from its original release, “Titanic” now stands at $2.03 billion worldwide. That's second to only one film — Cameron's 2009 movie "Avatar," which has taken in $2.8 billion.