‘San Andreas’ jolts box office Generates $114m worldwide in just three days

KARACHI: In news that should surprise absolutely no one, the massive disaster movie starring Dwayne Johnson stomped all over the box office this weekend, effortlessly topping the top 10. San Andreas may not have matched flashier, higher concept “CGI buildings fall down” adventures like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, but it has proven that audiences will still flock to mass destruction like no one’s business.
The earthquake disaster movie easily took the top spot at the box office. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson proved he can open a tent pole film all by his not-so-little lonesome with San Andreas’s estimated, beefy $54M domestic take. That $14K per theater average, in 3,777 venues, was much better than the predicted $40M for the Warner Bros. disaster flick. 44% of that was attributed to 3D and, with an A- CinemaScore, it looks like the film will have domestic box-office aftershocks for some weeks to come. But the U.S wasn’t the only place that the tremors were felt. Overseas, in 60 markets, San Andreas ranked #1 in 55 of those markets, opening with an international cume of $60M (on 14.5k screens) resulting in a worldwide cume of $114M.
The real winner in this story, however, is Johnson. San Andreas is the best opening for him, Johnson really could act as the main attraction. But Warner made him the focus of the marketing campaign and Johnson did his usual above-average participation to promote the film. This paid off, not only for him, but also for his director, Brad Peyton. The movie’s opening gives Mr. Johnson, who first came to fame as professional wrestler “The Rock,” his best debut as a solo star. It is his second hit of the summer after “Furious 7.”
San Andreas
grossing $60 million overseas this weekend. So far, it has opened in 60 markets that typically account for about half the international box office. Audiences, however, gave “San Andreas” a strong “A-” grade, according to the market research firm Cinema Score.