©Universal/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
“Twisters” has been a huge success at the box office, As It has strong appeal to an international audience.
The film, a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster blockbuster “Twister,” grossed $27.1 million from 76 international territories over the weekend, bringing in $42 million internationally. But “Twisters” performed much better at the domestic box office, where ticket sales soared to $80.5 million. The film has grossed $123.2 million worldwide to date.
Outside the US and Canada, the biggest box office takers for the weekend were the UK ($5.5 million), Mexico ($2.5 million), Australia ($2 million) and France ($1.9 million). Twister flopped in China, where it only grossed $1.5 million in its opening weekend. IMAX screens brought in $2.2 million overseas and $11.2 million worldwide over the weekend.
“Twisters” cost $155 million to make, not including millions spent on global marketing. Universal Pictures backed the film and released it domestically, while Warner Bros. holds international rights. The film has not yet been released in Japan or South Korea.
From Minari’s Lee Isaac Chung, Twisters stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos as a new group of storm chasers who fight a desperate battle as multiple tornadoes converge on central Oklahoma. The original Twister, which starred Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes and Philip Seymour Hoffman as storm-chasing scientists attempting to control the most powerful tornado in decades, was a massive hit, grossing nearly $500 million worldwide. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 1996 and was nominated for two Academy Awards.
At the international box office, Universal and Illumination’s sequel “Despicable Me” grossed $52 million in 79 markets. The animated family film grossed $315 million overseas and $574 million worldwide. The franchise, which includes the popular “Minions” series, recently became the first animated series to surpass $5 billion in global box office grosses.
Disney’s Pixar sequel Inside Out 2 is another giant of the animated film world, grossing $34.2 million in 51 territories over the weekend. Six weeks after its release, the film has grossed a massive $846.9 million overseas and $1.443 million worldwide. The second film, Inside Out, is expected to soon surpass Frozen 2 ($1.45 billion) as the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It is also on track to overtake Barbie ($1.446 billion) as the 14th highest-grossing film of all time.
