Will Smith sci-fi adventure “After Earth” tops foreign box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - “After Earth” the Will and Jaden Smith sci-fi adventure that has failed to take off in the U.S., is showing signs of life at the overseas box office, where it finished No. 1 for the weekend, TheWrap said.

“After Earth” opened in 60 foreign markets and brought in $45.5 million, with top-spot debuts in Russia with $8.5 million, as well as in Mexico ($5.3 million), France ($4 million) and the U.K. ($3.5 million).

That’s better than the same-territory openings of “The Last Airbender” at $42.7 million and “The Karate Kid” with $32.3 million. The latter of those two, which starred Jaden Smith, earned more than $180 million overseas in 2010. “The Last Airbender,” which was directed by “After Earth” director M. Night Shyamalan, brought in more than $187 million.

Distributor Sony is hoping "After Earth,” in which the father and son play space travelers stranded on Earth 1,000 years after humanity has left, can score overseas. The film, which has a hefty $130 million production budget, debuted to a weak $27 million domestically last week.

After taking in $11.2 million in North America this weekend, its global total stands is just over $95 million.