‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Earns Strong $103.3 Million In Overseas Debut

X-Men: Apocalypse has earned $103.3 million on its debut over the five-day weekend, moving The Angry Birds Movie and Captain America: Civil War to the side along the way. The 20th Century Fox superhero blockbuster now tops the box office in 71 markets.

"X-Men: Apocalypse" Scores Big International Box Office Opening with $103.3 Million https://t.co/ucuO49TBOS pic.twitter.com/mrnU9p1a9K

— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) May 22, 2016

The sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Olivia Munn, Evan Peters, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sophie Turner, and Rose Byrne. X-Men: Apocalypse is Bryan Singer’s fourth X-Men movie as a director and fifth as a writer.

X-Men: Apocalypse has premiered in 64 percent of the international market at this point. The U.K. leads the overseas box office for X-Men: Apocalypse with $10.5 million, followed by Mexico with $8.6 million, Brazil with $8.6 million, Russia with $6.5 million, France with $5.9 million, $4.9 million in the Philippines, and $4.8 million in Australia. The movie opens in South Korea on May 25, North America on May 27, China on June 3, and Japan on August 11.

As the conclusion of a trilogy started with X-Men: First Class and continued with X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse has garnered fairly mixed reviews from critics. It was praised for its action and casting, but panned for its prodigious use of common superhero movie conventions and questionable direction of its storytelling. X-Men: Apocalypse sits at 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing. Despite that, most audiences thus far seem to have found it to be a fun watch.

While X-Men: First Class was set in the 60s and X-Men: Days of Future Past was set in the 70s, X-Men: Apocalypse is set in the 80s. The story centers around the reawakening of Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), the first and most powerful mutant in the X-Men universe. Disillusioned by the new world he wakes up to, Apocalypse assembles a team of powerful mutants he calls his Four Horsemen to purge mankind of its filth and create a new world order with him as its ruler.

Among the Four Horsemen is a rather distraught Magneto (Michael Fassbender), still reeling over the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Meanwhile, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is on her own and she must seek the help of Professor X (James McAvoy), who must then lead the X-Men — with members both old and new — to counteract this threat to the world.

Meanwhile, The Angry Birds Movie took $55.5 million on its second weekend, totaling up to $151 million so far with its global box office draw. Captain America: Civil War is now on its fourth weekend, raking in an additional $30.7 million and having passed the global $1 billion mark on May 20. Warcraft is also set to open in some international markets in the coming week, which may challenge X-Men: Apocalypse in the box office to some extent.

With such a strong opening in 64 percent of the global market, it is estimated that X-Men: Apocalypse may earn up to $160 million next weekend as it debuts in more markets, including North America where the Memorial Day weekend proved to be a boon for X-Men: Days of Future Past. The global box office record for the X-Men franchise is $457 million for X-Men: The Last Stand.

[Image via 20th Century Fox]