“Need for Speed” and “300: Rise of an Empire” went head-to-head at the foreign box office this weekend, and the hot car action film won this round.
The video-game adaptation starring Aaron Paul of TV’s “Breaking Bad” brought in $45.6 million from 41 markets, including a $21 million No. 1 opening in China for distributor Disney. The big foreign opening took some of the sting out of its lower-than-expected $17.8 million domestic debut; the DreamWorks action movie took in $63.4 million globally in its first weekend, nearly matching its $66 million production budget.
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The “300” sequel, which is in its second week, brought in $41.3 million from 63 territories for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. The R-rated sword-and-sandals saga is up to $158 million from overseas, and $236 million globally.
“Need for Speed” got a big boost in China from 3D and from Imax. The $2.4 million it drew from 138 Imax theaters there set a March record. It also played well in Russia ($5.5 million) and the U.K. ($3.5 million).
“Rise of an Empire” was powered by strong second weeks in Brazil ($3.5 million), Russia ($3 million) and Mexico ($2.9 million).
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The DreamWorks Animation family film “Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” which topped both of those films in North American over the weekend, was third overseas. It brought in $15.3 million from 62 markets for Fox and is up to $85.6 million in foreign grosses and nearly $149 million worldwide.
Universal’s Liam Neeson thriller “Non-Stop” came next, with $12.5 million from 28 markets, to raise its foreign total to $59 million and its worldwide haul to nearly $128 million.
Disney’s “Frozen” continued to roll along. It added $10.4 million from 27 markets to raises its international total to $630.2 million and its worldwide haul to $1.02 billion.