‘Legend of Tarzan’ Tops Foreign Box Office With $44.7 Million

“The Legend of Tarzan” swung to the top of foreign box office charts over the weekend, propelled by a solid opening in China. The adventure epic led competitors with $44.7 million from 17,500 screens in 61 markets. The big contributor was the Middle Kingdom, where “The Legend of Tarzan” picked up $27.1 million in its first six days of release.

The attempt to relaunch Edgar Rice Burroughs’ pulp novels about a man raised by apes has floundered domestically, weighed down by its $185 million price tag. The film’s global total now stands at $260.5 million. That’s a respectable gross, but a film of this size needs to do upwards of $400 million to be considered a success, let alone trigger a sequel, which is basically the point of greenlighting a movie with that kind of budget. Warner Bros. is backing the film, which was directed by David Yates, the filmmaker behind most of the Harry Potter movies. It stars Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan and Margot Robbie as Jane.

In second place, “Skiptrace,” an East-meets-West action comedy, earned $44 million. The Chinese-American co-production stars Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville as a detective and gambler who team up after running afoul of a crime syndicate. Renny Harlin (“Cliffhanger”) directs the movie. It opened in China over the weekend and will get a U.S. release this fall.

Fox’s “Ice Age: Collision Course” and Paramount’s “Star Trek Beyond” were tied for third place, each generating $30 million. Both films opened domestically this weekend, with the latest Star Trek topping charts with a $59.6 million debut. The fifth “Ice Age” fared worse, bombing with $21 million. However, the animated sequel has been in release overseas for several weeks. Its global total stands at a solid $199 million. Worldwide, “Star Trek Beyond” has now earned $89.6 million. It will need to continue to draw foreign crowds if Paramount wants to make a profit on the $185 million film.

Korean zombie film “Train to Busan” snagged fourth place with $27.5 million, while Disney’s “Finding Dory” rounded out the top five with $19.5, pushing its global total to $781.7 million.

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