‘Pacific Rim’ Hits $100 Million In China, But Is It Enough For A Sequel?
Pacific Rim has officially earned a tidy $100 million at the box office in China. This is around $2 million more than it grossed in the United States.
Many folks believed that the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s big-budget creature feature was hinged on the film’s performance overseas. In fact, some analysts felt that Pacific Rim needed to earn quite a bit of money in China before the studio would even discuss a follow-up.
In addition to being the top-grossing Warner Bros. film in China, del Toro’s action flick is also among the most successful of all time. The film trails behind Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($172 million) and Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 ($120 million).
With Pacific Rim’s worldwide total perched at $384 million, it’s still unclear if Warner Bros. will move forward with the sequel. Since the studio and production company Legendary Pictures are no longer doing business, the franchise could make the jump to Universal Pictures.
Foreign box office numbers mean a lot more these days than they have in the past. Although it failed to catch fire here in the US, the Tom Cruise thriller Jack Reacher ended up doing brisk business overseas. This prompted producers to reconsider giving the sequel a greenlight.
Director Tommy Wirkola’s Hansel and Gretal: Witch Hunters also benefited greatly from foreign moviegoers. The movie ended up bringing home around $225 million worldwide despite only doing $55 million in North America. Paramount Pictures is said to be very interested in doing another film.
Unfortunately, Warner Bros. has remained silent regarding the Pacific Rim sequel. Guillermo del Toro seems have quite a few ideas already in the blender, so at least he’s ready to roll should the studio decide to move forward with the flick. Here’s hoping the movie does incredibly well on home video.
Are you surprised Pacific Rim is a hit in China? Do you think Warner Bros. will greenlight a sequel based on its international appeal?
[Image via Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary Pictures]
