Box Office: ‘Glass’ Shines Overseas With $48.5 Million Weekend

After autobots and aquatic kings have dominated foreign markets over the past few weeks, a different kind of hero has risen to the top of box office charts. M. Night Shyamalan’s “Glass” is the new champ overseas, pulling in $48.5 million from international territories.

The supernatural thriller, a sequel to 2000’s “Unbreakable” and 2016’s “Split,” debuted in North America with $40 million over the weekend for a global start of $89 million. Estimates show “Glass” could add $7 million to its domestic tally through the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, putting its projected four-day haul at $95.5 million.

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Buena Vista International is handling distribution for “Glass” overseas excluding China, while Universal is spearheading domestic duties. Shyamalan wrote and directed “Glass,” which saw James McAvoy reprise his role from “Split” and Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson return as their characters from “Unbreakable.”

Despite mediocre reviews and an unenthusiastic audience reception, “Glass” is pacing ahead of its predecessor “Split” in a number of territories. “Glass” saw a handful of No. 1 openings among markets it was released, including Russia ($5.2 million), Mexico ($4.5 million), and the United Kingdom ($4.3 million).

“Glass” took down reigning victor “Bumblebee” for the top spot internationally, but Paramount’s “Transformers” origin story still had a robust weekend overseas. “Bumblebee” has now jumped the $400 million mark worldwide and is just shy of $300 million from foreign markets. Its abroad tally currently sits at $296.4 million after adding $20.9 million from 64 territories this weekend.

Directed by Travis Knight and starring Hailee Steinfeld, “Bumblebee” had the best showing in China, where it ranked No. 1 for the third weekend. It earned $16.3 million, taking its total in the Middle Kingdom to a strong $137.7 million.

Warner Bros.’ superhero adventure “Aquaman” also brought back solid ticket sales with $14.3 million from 79 overseas markets. That takes its international haul to a mighty $759 million. Globally, the aquatic tentpole starring Jason Momoa has pocketed $1.06 billion, with $289.7 million of that haul from China alone. Top holdovers this weekend include Australia with $1.5 million, Germany with $1.3 million, and France with $1.1 million.

Meanwhile, Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” drummed up another $11.3 million this weekend, bringing its international total to a massive $596 million. Along with its $200 million bounty in North America, the Queen biopic is nearing $800 million worldwide.

Another movie musical, Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” a sequel to the 1964 classic, has surpassed a major milestone of its own. The musical, starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, has crossed $300 million globally after adding $6 million from international territories in its fifth weekend of release. In North America, it has passed “La La Land” ($151 million) to rank as the fifth-biggest live-action musical.

Rounding out the top five is Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” earning $10.8 million from 13 international territories for an international total of $29 million. The animated fantasy film debuted in Brazil, where it earned $3.7 million, along with Colombia ($1.3 million) and the Netherlands ($1.3 million). The third installment in the “Dragon” series opens in North America on Feb. 22.

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