‘Transcendence’ Chinese Opening Weekend Beats Domestic Box Office With $11.4 Mil

While Johnny Depp failed to make an impression Stateside, with his latest starring vehicle “Transcendence” belly-flopping with $11.2 million, the actor proved impactful in China, where the sci-fi pic grossed an estimated $11.4 million.

In total, “Transcendence” grossed $17.4 million from 27 overseas markets, China being the largest by far.

The Chinese weekend take — still not earth-shattering by any means — outdoing the domestic launch is an extremely rare occurrence for a wide domestic release, let alone one with someone like Depp attached.

However, the star, whose box office power is rather hit or miss depending on the film (think “Pirates of the Caribbean” vs. “The Lone Ranger”) recently made a first-time personal appearance in Beijing to promote the film. Moreover, Alcon, which produced and financed the movie for $100 million, released an exclusive 3D version of the film for Chinese audiences.

As proof, Imax contributed a significant chunk of the film’s China gross from only 180 locations (pic totaled 6,000 screens in China).

Up next in China for Hollywood tentpoles, Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ bows locally on May 4.

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