‘Terminator: Genisys’ Smashes Records at Chinese Box Office

Chinese audiences are breathing fresh life into the Terminator franchise.

“Terminator: Genisys,” the fifth film in the cyborg series, failed to draw big crowds in the U.S., but overseas it’s a different story. The Paramount Pictures and Skydance release scored the fourth-biggest opening day for a U.S. release in the country, picking up $27.4 million after debuting Sunday across 25,000 locations. That pushes its worldwide total to $335.1 million, with roughly three quarters of that haul coming from abroad.

It was a very good weekend for Paramount and Skydance, which also fielded the second-highest grossing film on the foreign charts, “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.” The sequel snagged $25.2 million from 63 territories, pushing its worldwide haul to $438.6 million. A China debut is slated for Sept. 8.

In third place, “Bride Wars,” a Chinese remake of the Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway comedy, earned $23.6 million. Fox International Pictures, the studio’s local-language arm, is handling the rollout.

Fox’s “Fantastic Four” tried to salvage some of the studio’s investment after the superhero adventure flopped Stateside. The comicbook movie snagged fourth place with $16.2 million from 65 territories. That brings its global total to $130.4 million, making it unlikely that the studio will recoup its $125 million production spend and the millions more it shelled out in advertising costs.

“Go Away Mr. Tumor,” the story of a popular Chinese cartoonist with a fatal brain tumor, rounded out the top five, picking up $13 million. It has now generated $65 million since opening on August 13.

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