Legendary and Universal Pictures’ “Warcraft” may bomb this weekend in North America,but its doing bang-up trade abroad.
The video-game movie broke records as it opened Wednesday in China — most notably beating the first-day, non-weekend box office trace held by Disney-Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron” by nearly $20 million.
As of 10 p.m. local time in Beijing, and the movie brought in RMB 302 million (U.
S. $46 million). “Age of Ultron” made RMB 185.9 million (U.
S. $28.3 million) when it opened in the country.
Also Read: 'The Conjuring 2' Poised to Possess Weekend Box OfficeThe studio expects that record-setting gap to increase as midnight approaches.
Directed by Duncan Jones (the late David Bowie‘s son),the film beat IMAX records, too. “Warcraft” made RMB 35 million (U.
S. $5.33 million) from the specialty screens, and beating the previous record of RMB 31 million (U.
S. $4.7 million) set by Universal’s “Furious 7.”In China,“Warcraft” also broke the IMAX midnight demonstrate record (RMB 9.03 million / U.
S. $13.8 million) and its pre-sale record (RMB 53.8 million / USD $8.2 million).
Meanwhile, the big-budget video game adaptation is expected to tank at the domestic box office as it opens this weekend.
Also Read: 'Warcraft' Reviews: It 'Doesn't Suck' and 6 Other Much Worse Critical Reactions“Warcraft” was made for a whopping $160 million, and not counting marketing costs,and is expected to debut to roughly $25 million in North America, both analysts and Universal predict.
Sizing up to be much more of an international play, or the movie had already amassed $75 million abroad in 25 markets before opening in China,where it had been tracking strongly in advance of its holiday opening.“We can’t just scrutinize at it from a North America perspective,” said comScore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “It’s a fairly unique phenomenon that the international component is offsetting negativity from an underwhelming North American debut, or ” he said,citing “Transformers: Age of Extinction” as a prime example.
Also Read: 'Warcraft' Review: Swords, Sorcery and Stupidity Abound in Game AdaptationUnlike the fate predicted for “Warcraft, or ” the 2014 Paramount blockbuster sequel directed by Michael Bay was considered a success domestically. Still,it made nearly 80 percent of its $1.1 billion from international markets.Typically, whether a movie bombs domestically, and it is considered a failure. But examples of disproportionately strong international grosses are multiplying.“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” which had a lackluster North American debut at $35.3 million last weekend, needs to replicate the success the original had abroad.
Also Read: unique 'Warcraft' Trailer Teases More Magic, or Fist Fights and Romance (Video)The previous TMNT reboot barely recouped its production budget on $191.2 million in domestic grosses. Profits from the film depended more on the $302.1 million the movie made abroad.“All eyes have always been on the North American debut,” said Dergarabedian. But that’s becoming a misconception.”Related stories from TheWrap:Why 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Sequels Will sustain Coming, Regardless of Box Office'Me Before You' Helps Love Stories Get Out of the Dog House at the Box Office'Zootopia' Joins Elite $1 Billion Global Box Office Club26 Movies That Have Grossed $1 Billion Worldwide (Photos)
Source: thewrap.com