‘Pacific Rim’ Doing Extremely Well In China

Pacific Rim may have failed to capture a substantial amount of money here in the United States, but it’s proving to be extremely popular overseas.

In fact, the latest endeavor from acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is breaking box office records in China. The film pulled in an estimated $45.2 million from the world’s second largest film market.

Pacific Rim’s hefty debut in the country marks the biggest opening for Warner Bros. in history. This total also helped push the picture’s worldwide total to $293.4 million. Although the film probably won’t break even during its theatrical run, chances are it could still make some cash on home video.

The $200 million endeavor finds mankind battling a legion of enormous monsters with a battalion of giant robots. The movie is essentially a big-budget B-movie, though del Toro’s smart script allows it to overcome this simplistic description.

Unfortunately, the movie couldn’t find a very large audience in North America. The film’s domestic total is stalled at disappointing $92.9 million. It’s still unclear if Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures intend to move forward with the sequel the director seems determined to make.

As China’s film market continues to grow, more and more studios are counting on the country to help their flicks find success. Although it certainly didn’t need any assistance, Universal Pictures and Justin Lin’s Fast and Furious 6 also did brisk business in the country last month.

The latest installment of the long-running franchise earned $24.3 million during its first weekend in Chinese theaters. The film also gave Universal its biggest opening haul to-date in the country. Not surprisingly, more and more studios are keeping China in the back of their minds when crafting movies for the international market.

Michael Bay, meanwhile, is taking things a step further. In addition to being filmed in the country, Transformers 4 will feature a handful of popular Chinese actors. Say what you will about the guy’s output, but he clearly understands the business.

Are you surprised that Pacific Rim made $45.2 million during its first weekend in China?

[Image via Warner Bros. / Legendary Pictures]