At the foreign box office this weekend, one film ruled them all.
From Beijing to St. Petersburg, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” was the clear choice of overseas ticket buyers, amassing an astounding $201.3 million, nearly half of which came from China. In all, the film opened in 37 international markets, including Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia, but largely steered clear of World Cup-obsessed Europe and much of South America.
Sliding in at second place was the Chinese romantic comedy “The Breakup Guru,” which racked up $20.6 million from the People’s Republic and U.S. limited engagements.
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” continued to look abroad to augment its disappointing domestic run. The DreamWorks Animation film attracted $17.9 million from 53 territories, as it waits to hear if it has scored a berth in China this summer. In all the film has made $229.2 million worldwide.
Fourth place finisher “Maleficent” continued to show impressive legs in its international rollout. The film brought in $16 million from 55 foreign territories bringing its worldwide haul to $585.5 million.
Breakout romantic drama “The Fault in Our Stars” added $13 million to its bounty, securing fifth place at the foreign box office and bringing its worldwide gross to $195.3 million. That’s a staggering figure for a film that only cost $12 million to produce.
Among other releases, Tom Cruise’s “Edge of Tomorrow” brought in $6.9 million from foreign markets, bringing its total to $318.6 million worldwide. The $178 million production will still struggle to become profitable, but it’s not the turkey some had predicted it would become. Thank you China.
